Mom and Dad´s European Vacation
So, I had Mom and Dad here visiting for the month of August, minus one week when they escaped the doldrums of our mountain home for 7 days of urban bliss in Paris. During that time, Patti came and went as well. It was a really neat experience to have them here! After all these years of “Spain this or Spain that”, they finally got to know the country that I first fell in love with 18 years and 15-some trips ago. For Mom, it was the first time she ever set foot in Spain. For Dad, it was the first time in 40 years he had been here. If you know anything about recent Spanish history, you know that the Spain of 40 years ago, under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, has absolutlely NOTHING to do with the democratic/socialist Spain of today, currently under the leadership of President José María Aznár and the Partido Popular (the Poplar or Populist Party). Needless to say, Patti marveled at how remarkably similar to Italy Spain is and Mom and Dad were impressed with the old world and new world functioning side by side. Old world stuff...I had Dad participate in an encierro small town bull fight. Yes, he was actually in the ring with the bulls and a bunch of other brazen young and not-so-young, sober and not-so-sober men (I won´t say which category my father falls into). Actually there were a few women participating too. This chica, as crazy as she is, has retired from her festive days. I enjoyed the spectacle from the bleachers with Patti and Mom...who I am not so sure was enjoying it too much. I think she was worried about explaining to my brother how all of Dad´s ribs got broken. Hee hee. Dad made it home in one piece, after a few tense moments and Angel finally going down and dragging him out of the ring. Literally. It was quite an experience and a memory that I am sure Dad will enjoy reliving many times over. New world stuff … shopping in El Corte Inglés, Spain´s largest department store and wandering through Carrefour, the French chain of hypermarkets that was never really successful in penetrating the American market. I also have to mention zipping along the autopistas (highways) that are quite modern in their own right. Of course me with my new Spanish drivers´ license, I am not permitted to zip too much...more like crawl at 50 mph (newly licensed drivers are permitted a maximum speed of 80 kph for the first year of their license) with all the others zipping by me at breathtaking speeds of 100-120 mph. Ahh but it´s good to have friends in all the right places, or as they are called here enchufes. So, Juan (yes, Lori, can you believe it? He is now a big time lawyer here in Madrid) has promised to take care of any speeding tickets, just for crying out loud go faster than 50 mph (as he so eloquently put it)!
Business as Usual
Summer is over and it´s back to business as usual, or is it? I sometimes feel like my life is an endless series of adventures. Close one chapter open another. It´s actually a pretty cool feeling. As I have always said, better busy than bored. So, I am busy creating the next chapter (within a chapter) of my life. Now that all the summer visitors are gone, we are full steam ahead on our business. Originally planned for a September launch, but it looks like it´ll be closer to October before Iber-English Language Partners will be opening it´s office just northwest of the business district here in Madrid. For those of you familiar with the city, it´ll be located in the Plaza de Castilla/Valdeacederas section. In the meantime, between laying brick, hanging drywall, developing teaching plans for the business and teaching a few random classes, I have been cranking out a couple of proposals for corporate clients (see, those non-profit fundraising days served me well to write great proposals on a shoestring budget!). Two of them are multinationals (one American and one Spanish), the third is a smaller local client. Along with that, have been pounding the pavement for English teachers...native speaking and preferrably legal. Otherwise, our expenses go up with the cost of administering the paperwork and legal fees to get the teachers their work visas...Patti! Where are you???!!! So, you are sitting there, shaking your head and thinking….”that crazy Becky! How does she do it??”. I don´t have to wonder, I know...I do it with the tremendous support of my wonderful life partner (or as Lee puts it, my best friend, my lover, my husband).
Fallen Angel
So, Mom and Dad...AND Patti, had the opportunity to get to know Angel much better and his wry sense of humor. I really hadn´t given it much thought before Patti pointed out to me how so many of my friends and family were concerned/worried about me “running off, getting married, and moving to Spain” in the blink of an eye... primarily because no one really KNEW Angel. Yes, several had met him on his brief weekend visits during our “courtship”. But the brevity and language barriers prevented any real “familiarity” from developing. Well, Mom and Dad left with future dreams of spending several months at a time visiting. And Patti, well...how ´bout it Patti? As I have always said, you never know what is waiting for you just around the next corner!! I feel like my Angel has fallen from the heavens. For those of you remaining with any bit of concern or worry, he is a wonderful wonderful man who has done (is doing) everything humanly and inhumanly possible to make sure that my transition here is a smooth one and that I become every bit the independent woman that I was in the states. Can´t beat that!
The Flip Side
Yes, I feel like my life is a shining sun, but it does have its dark spots (as every life does). My legal battle with O.E. is moving forward. Will probably have my court date mid October. I don´t care about being paid at this point, all I care about is putting these losers out of business so that they don´t continue to cheat hard working teachers and innocent families out of money. Angel and I have launched a massive (by our standards), publicity campaign against them. I even had my first TV interview here in Spain. Ha ha! It´s much different doing such an interview in a language that isn´t your native tongue. I felt like such a rebel running around Madrid at midnight posting up signs on all of O.E.'s former offices telling teachers and students alike to get in touch with each other via an email account that Angel set up. Oh the fun of it all. Good thing that Angel and I are like minded!
Food and Fun
As I mentioned in one of my previous chapters, Angel and I with the help of Jeremy, organized a decent sized bilingual barbecue in June. In all we had about 30 attendees and it was great fun. The next one is planned for this Saturday (the 21st) and the guest list has swelled to 53 and counting. The menu includes paella (seafood, meat and vegetable) as well as sangría and burgers and dogs for the expats with a hankering. We are gearing up for another volleyball game. Can´t wait. Rumor has it that a French guy is joining us this time around! If you are a Spain lover, or have a curiosity about the country, I recommend that you check out Jer's website. The guy has webcams all over the place as well as a very active message board. Aside from the social aspect of the BBQ, I am really testing the waters for part of our business...bilingual activities that give students of either language (Spanish/English) the opportunity to practice in a non-threating environment. Ah yes, remember game-night groupies...game night will never die, on the drawing board are plans to launch a monthly bilingual game night here! Many thanks to Patti who brought Taboo and Scrabble and also Rob and Chumi ... Boggle lives on! Mom and Dad taught Angel´s parents how to play rummy and they taught Mom and Dad how to play chinchón. Cards, the international game.
Many thanks to those of you who emailed and said that you were looking for me on the news when the local stations covered the Tomatina (the huge tomato fight here in Spain). Unfortunately, our plans of going were altered by the tremendous hailstorms that Spain suffered the last week of August. The Tomatina was held, but the weather was rather cool. We didn´t want to run the risk of driving 5 hours only to discover it had been cancelled...there is always next year!
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Saturday, July 06, 2002
Legal Resident and Legal Driver!
Gosh, it has been ages since I last wrote a Life in Spain chapter in my ever growing “book” as some of you call it! So much has been going on these past couple of months that I hardly know where to start! I think the last time I wrote one was back in March...and here we are in July already! Where does time go?
Well, I am being fully indoctrinated into the Spanish life...on all levels! I finally got my residency here back in February and picked up my national ID card in March...wooo hooo! Now I can work anywhere in the European Union! Of course, now as a legal resident, that means I have (had) 6 months in which to get my drivers´ license if I wish to continue driving here after which my international license expires. So...
Licensed to Drive
I just recently completed AUTOESCUELA...yep you got it...driving school! A mandatory step towards getting my Spanish drivers´ license. It had been several years since I sat in lectures in Spanish...needless to say the first couple of classes in autoescuela were a rude awakening, between technical terms and my “false knowledge” of the driving here...was quite a challenge. I passed the “written” exam on Wednesday with flying colors scoring 39/40 correct. Next Wednesday, I present myself for the on the road test. This past week I have been taking driving lessons, can you believe that?! Gosh, what 17 years of driving an automatic does to really screw up your driving skills! However, sometimes I think my professor slams on the breaks unnecessarily just to demonstrate a minute point...if anything, out of sheer boredom. On the road, I am probably one of the easiest students he has since it was Angel who suffered through teaching me the use of the clutch and gears.
Socalized Medicine
Here in Spain, although a democracy…has a socialized health system. What that means is that everyone is covered, free of charge, under the national social security system without the need for private health insurance. Of course you can get private health insurance, but for most health needs, it isn´t necessary. What does socialized medicine mean from a users´ point of view? Well, for instance, no calling the doctor the first week expecting to get an appointment the second. When you do get an appointment, it´s around his/her schedule, rarely yours. I had an unfortunate fainting spell the other week (don´t get alarmed, nothing serious and I´m NOT pregnant!!) and we went to the ER of the clinic in our town. Ok a town of 2,500 … the ER is open 24/7... the incident happened at 8pm on a Friday night. I was seen in the ER after waiting an hour. Geeze...no bedside manners here whatsoever. The doctor was all business and quite frankly downright rude. The best that not having Blue Cross will get you! Ah well, at least everyone here has their basic healthcare needs met, and no one is turned away…not even illegal immigrants.
Work in Spain
Uff where do I begin with this one? As many of you know...I had several promising job interviews and even a job offer by the Red Cross of the Valencia region to do regional fundraising… to the tune of a little more than $5,000 a year. Full time. OUCH. (before leaving Philadelphia a company wanted to interview me for a position paying 20 times that amount!!!) So, I didn´t accept the position, we moved to Madrid (well, El Espinar) and I began my new career as an English teacher. Interesting career it is and I have met the most wonderful and interesting people. One of my students is the national sales director for Volvo Spain. He told me that whenever I was ready to buy a Volvo, that he is the one I should talk to. Hmmm on what I make?? A Volvo???. Anyway...I am an independent English consultant and work for several agencies. But then we got to thinking…why not just get rid of the middle man and go off on our own? So, that is what we will be doing this summer...renovations in a space that Angel´s parents own in downtown Madrid. With a September launch planned. The English center will offer multiple services including English classes, both onsite and in companies, as well as translation services and eventually, interpreters. I have developed a real deep respect for those who want to learn English because compared to Spanish, it´s one hellava difficult language. It has so many grammar rules and there are more exceptions than rules. Oh and forget the spelling. Argh. Try explaining the pronunciation rules for though, through, thought and bough. Then the spelling rules for throw, dough, sew, so, know and now. See what I mean? And that´s just the tip of the iceberg!
Legal Maneuvers
So, in my work as an English teacher, I have been working, since November for a company called O.E.(I am omitting the full name here. It's one of 3 places that I work for). I was one of their professors who went to the homes to give private English classes. All was peachy keen until late March when they started to pay me late. They continued to pay, but perhaps 6-8 weeks behind schedule. Last Friday when I was in my boss´s office, she suggested that I stop teaching for the month of July to minimize my risk of non-payment. She said that I would be paid for May and June, but wasn´t certain how nor when. Since then, the Academy has closed up shop...closed all its offices and cut its phone lines. Angel and I are now in a legal battle with about 10 other professors to collect the money owed to us. The whole thing was a complete sham! As I said, I am being fully indoctrinated into Spanish life here...Spanish driving school, Spanish medical system and the Spanish legal system! What next?!
Now that July is here again, it´s time for the tremendous San Fermín Festival in Pamplona (remember Michelle??!!), commonly known as “The Running of the Bulls”. I was just reading the article about it on CNN.com and find it quite interesting the angle that the article takes. Painting the festival as a dangerous drunken rampage and talking about the tourists who have been gored or trampled. Ok, it´s a drunken rampage with all night partying (if you choose to drink all night). But give me a break, the “tourists” who are gored or trampled are the ones who purposely put themselves in the paths of these huge beasts. The route that the bulls run is carefully fenced off and the “spectating tourists” are safe from any wandering animal. Oh well, viva impartial reporting!
Making connections: I have slowly been meeting people (socially not through work) and am quite pleased with my network of bilingual/bicultural friends. I have been pretty skittish about connecting with the expat crowd here. I would much rather mix with Spaniards. However, I have found a great group of Americans who are romatically involved with spaniards (dating, married, etc), so we have a lot in common. Angel and I, with the help of Jeremy (an American expat with Spanish gal) organized a barbecue here in the mountains. We convinced a caravan of 8 cars carrying 27 people (Spaniards, Americans, Brits, South Africans) to make the 30 mile trek up here where we made paella, roasted lamb chops, sangria, roasted chicken and salad along with fresh bread. Yum! Of course the picnic was complemented with good old American baseball, a rousing game of volleyball and visits by wild horses. You can see the pics here: http://www.multimadrid.com/barbq/june9_2002/.
Visits, visits and more visits! The special guest award goes to Julie Cheng to be the first to visit with us in 2002! Jeannette Riviera and Suzanne Tenuto won the award in 2001. Unfortunately Julie´s visit was only for a brief drink in the Plaza de los Cubos, but great to see her all the same! I recently had lunch with Dr. Iglesias, my college Spanish professor and the person who started my love affair with Spain! She was in town (or should I say in country?) for a conference. Gosh it was so much fun to catch up with her and have her show me some of her favorite Madrid secrets! Angel and I are anxiously looking forward to having Mom and Dad Gaspar come visit at the end of this month along with Patti DeFrancesco. Maybe Angelo DiGiulio will give us a buzz while he is here on business from Venezuela later this month. My sister Jen, and her hubby are planning an October visit before we head “west” (to Phila) for the Christmas holidays. Who knows what (or who) 2003 will bring us!
Well, I am being fully indoctrinated into the Spanish life...on all levels! I finally got my residency here back in February and picked up my national ID card in March...wooo hooo! Now I can work anywhere in the European Union! Of course, now as a legal resident, that means I have (had) 6 months in which to get my drivers´ license if I wish to continue driving here after which my international license expires. So...
Licensed to Drive
I just recently completed AUTOESCUELA...yep you got it...driving school! A mandatory step towards getting my Spanish drivers´ license. It had been several years since I sat in lectures in Spanish...needless to say the first couple of classes in autoescuela were a rude awakening, between technical terms and my “false knowledge” of the driving here...was quite a challenge. I passed the “written” exam on Wednesday with flying colors scoring 39/40 correct. Next Wednesday, I present myself for the on the road test. This past week I have been taking driving lessons, can you believe that?! Gosh, what 17 years of driving an automatic does to really screw up your driving skills! However, sometimes I think my professor slams on the breaks unnecessarily just to demonstrate a minute point...if anything, out of sheer boredom. On the road, I am probably one of the easiest students he has since it was Angel who suffered through teaching me the use of the clutch and gears.
Socalized Medicine
Here in Spain, although a democracy…has a socialized health system. What that means is that everyone is covered, free of charge, under the national social security system without the need for private health insurance. Of course you can get private health insurance, but for most health needs, it isn´t necessary. What does socialized medicine mean from a users´ point of view? Well, for instance, no calling the doctor the first week expecting to get an appointment the second. When you do get an appointment, it´s around his/her schedule, rarely yours. I had an unfortunate fainting spell the other week (don´t get alarmed, nothing serious and I´m NOT pregnant!!) and we went to the ER of the clinic in our town. Ok a town of 2,500 … the ER is open 24/7... the incident happened at 8pm on a Friday night. I was seen in the ER after waiting an hour. Geeze...no bedside manners here whatsoever. The doctor was all business and quite frankly downright rude. The best that not having Blue Cross will get you! Ah well, at least everyone here has their basic healthcare needs met, and no one is turned away…not even illegal immigrants.
Work in Spain
Uff where do I begin with this one? As many of you know...I had several promising job interviews and even a job offer by the Red Cross of the Valencia region to do regional fundraising… to the tune of a little more than $5,000 a year. Full time. OUCH. (before leaving Philadelphia a company wanted to interview me for a position paying 20 times that amount!!!) So, I didn´t accept the position, we moved to Madrid (well, El Espinar) and I began my new career as an English teacher. Interesting career it is and I have met the most wonderful and interesting people. One of my students is the national sales director for Volvo Spain. He told me that whenever I was ready to buy a Volvo, that he is the one I should talk to. Hmmm on what I make?? A Volvo???. Anyway...I am an independent English consultant and work for several agencies. But then we got to thinking…why not just get rid of the middle man and go off on our own? So, that is what we will be doing this summer...renovations in a space that Angel´s parents own in downtown Madrid. With a September launch planned. The English center will offer multiple services including English classes, both onsite and in companies, as well as translation services and eventually, interpreters. I have developed a real deep respect for those who want to learn English because compared to Spanish, it´s one hellava difficult language. It has so many grammar rules and there are more exceptions than rules. Oh and forget the spelling. Argh. Try explaining the pronunciation rules for though, through, thought and bough. Then the spelling rules for throw, dough, sew, so, know and now. See what I mean? And that´s just the tip of the iceberg!
Legal Maneuvers
So, in my work as an English teacher, I have been working, since November for a company called O.E.(I am omitting the full name here. It's one of 3 places that I work for). I was one of their professors who went to the homes to give private English classes. All was peachy keen until late March when they started to pay me late. They continued to pay, but perhaps 6-8 weeks behind schedule. Last Friday when I was in my boss´s office, she suggested that I stop teaching for the month of July to minimize my risk of non-payment. She said that I would be paid for May and June, but wasn´t certain how nor when. Since then, the Academy has closed up shop...closed all its offices and cut its phone lines. Angel and I are now in a legal battle with about 10 other professors to collect the money owed to us. The whole thing was a complete sham! As I said, I am being fully indoctrinated into Spanish life here...Spanish driving school, Spanish medical system and the Spanish legal system! What next?!
Now that July is here again, it´s time for the tremendous San Fermín Festival in Pamplona (remember Michelle??!!), commonly known as “The Running of the Bulls”. I was just reading the article about it on CNN.com and find it quite interesting the angle that the article takes. Painting the festival as a dangerous drunken rampage and talking about the tourists who have been gored or trampled. Ok, it´s a drunken rampage with all night partying (if you choose to drink all night). But give me a break, the “tourists” who are gored or trampled are the ones who purposely put themselves in the paths of these huge beasts. The route that the bulls run is carefully fenced off and the “spectating tourists” are safe from any wandering animal. Oh well, viva impartial reporting!
Making connections: I have slowly been meeting people (socially not through work) and am quite pleased with my network of bilingual/bicultural friends. I have been pretty skittish about connecting with the expat crowd here. I would much rather mix with Spaniards. However, I have found a great group of Americans who are romatically involved with spaniards (dating, married, etc), so we have a lot in common. Angel and I, with the help of Jeremy (an American expat with Spanish gal) organized a barbecue here in the mountains. We convinced a caravan of 8 cars carrying 27 people (Spaniards, Americans, Brits, South Africans) to make the 30 mile trek up here where we made paella, roasted lamb chops, sangria, roasted chicken and salad along with fresh bread. Yum! Of course the picnic was complemented with good old American baseball, a rousing game of volleyball and visits by wild horses. You can see the pics here: http://www.multimadrid.com/barbq/june9_2002/.
Visits, visits and more visits! The special guest award goes to Julie Cheng to be the first to visit with us in 2002! Jeannette Riviera and Suzanne Tenuto won the award in 2001. Unfortunately Julie´s visit was only for a brief drink in the Plaza de los Cubos, but great to see her all the same! I recently had lunch with Dr. Iglesias, my college Spanish professor and the person who started my love affair with Spain! She was in town (or should I say in country?) for a conference. Gosh it was so much fun to catch up with her and have her show me some of her favorite Madrid secrets! Angel and I are anxiously looking forward to having Mom and Dad Gaspar come visit at the end of this month along with Patti DeFrancesco. Maybe Angelo DiGiulio will give us a buzz while he is here on business from Venezuela later this month. My sister Jen, and her hubby are planning an October visit before we head “west” (to Phila) for the Christmas holidays. Who knows what (or who) 2003 will bring us!
Sunday, March 17, 2002
Spring is on it's way!
Ahhh, finally the soon-to-arrive spring sun is peaking its bright eyes over the mountain tops assuring me that Sunny Spain is still here! Of course I can measure that in other ways as well…for example knowing that in a half hour, not only will I have fresh air dried sheets and towels, but they will also be wonderfully scented with the musky odor of cow or sheep or goat dung that seems to permeate the air here as of late!! My neighbors have some goats, or sheep, in their back yard. I don´t know which neighbors, but the sound of their baaaah-ing is too close to be coming from the pasture around the bend (no, not my neighbors baahhing but their choice of domestic pets!!).
Cultural Curiosities
I suppose with the spring time weather coming, I will not see one of my favorite “images” of Spanish life… that of the housewife, clad in her fur coat, walking to the local grocery store dragging her shopping cart behind her down the cobblestoned streets here in El Espinar. It is just such an ironic image, but so common here. In the states, the fur coat clad women are the ones stepping out of luxury cars as they attend the orchestra, opera, theater, or myriad of charity balls in the big city. Horrors should they ever be spotted lugging a very utilitarian shopping cart (not the metal Acme variety…these are isothermal upright rectangular boxes on two wheels) in their $15,000 fur coat! Just imagine the scene, the petite Spanish housewife with her huge fur coat, shoving her way into the already crowded pescadería (fish shop), greeting every other housewife on a first name basis, asking the fishman how fresh the fish is, and which is the catch of the day and asking who is last “in line” all in the same breath. Actually, I try not to breathe too hard in the fish shop...if you know what I mean!!!
The “in line” concept here in Spain is quite a unique and democratic one. When you first walk into the frutería (green grocer), pescadería (see above), carnicería (butcher), panadería (bread shop), you think that pure pandemonium exists. A gaggle of women all haggling over prices, talking about what their children are doing these days, how bad the snow is, how warm their house is...yaddah yaddah yaddah...What you don´t see is a line which indicates order of service (only the super and hyper markets use a numbered ticket system). However, everyone knows when it´s her turn. As each newcomer walks in, she asks (or shouts as need be) “who´s last?”... the last person identifies herself and so be it. Each person just keeps an eye out for the previous person to be served and voilà. Simple, democratic and orderly...despite appearances. I was really intimidated by these shops when I first got here ... until I learned the social rule.
Nowadays, Ángel and I are the modern Spanish couple, DINKS (I don´t think a term exists in Spainsh)... you know ... dual income no kids ... with both of us working, I don´t have the chance to go to the local shops as often, and we resort to doing our weekly shopping in the craziness of the hypermarkets such as Carrefour. Of course these hypermarkets are located in large commercial centers and navegating these immense stores is like navegating the King of Prussia Mall three days before Christmas. Yes, you get my drift. And of course, since we both work during the week, we really can only go on Saturdays since Sundays practically everything is closed. Here in Spain, grocery shopping is a family affair…Mom and Dad, the two screaming tykes (thankfully the Spaniards have given up on having the traditionally large Catholic family with 5+ kids) and quite frequently the grandparents too. Carrefour has kiddie sized carts to keep ´em busy...you often see the kids zipping up and down the isles with these tiny carts piled high with all the junkfood that they´ll convince Mom and Dad to buy. I just wonder how they all fit into the darned tiny cars here.
Multiculturalism ála Spain
So Ángel and I went out to eat yesterday in a Chinese restaurant. You know, something different than the octopus, squid and pork routine. It was the third or fourth time that we have been to one since I moved across the Atlantic. Here is a fascinating fact...fortune cookies are not served in Chinese restaurants here in Spain. In fact, they don´t even know what the heck I am talking about as I try to describe them. At first I thought it was simply a misunderstanding between my English-Spanish and their Chinese-Spanish...but nope. Not one single Chinese restaurant serves fortune cookies. So, then who started the Fortune Cookie Factory in Chinatown in Philadelphia?? Hmmmm... Have I been duped my whole life into thinking that those fortune cookies were really the wisdom of Confuscius? I´m so confused by Confuscius. Here the custom is to serve an after dinner liqueur with the bill, not fortune cookies. I kinda like this custom better!!
Of course, as the Chinese waiter and I struggle to have our profound conversation about the lack of Chinese fortune cookies in the Spanish-Chinese restaurants, Ángel pipes in with “Becky, why are you surprised, didn´t you know that they don´t even have Chinese restaurants in China”...oh the ever-funny-one that Ángel. I say, “yeah, ha ha ha!” and he then starts another profound conversation with our totally confused waiter about the lack of Chinese restaurants in China. And the kicker is that it´s true!! There are no Chinese restaurants, as we know them, in China. Oh the funny things that I learn here!
Learning English in Spain
We are deep in the throes of doing market research for our “English Academy”. I have gone on several job interviews here with other language schools for a variety of positions…everything from sales and marketing to English teacher to monitor to director of studies. I am not seriously interested in these positions, just seriously interested in knowing what the future competition does, what it charges, how its instructional method is formatted etc. Ángel, on the other hand is doing research on the actual English classes themselves. I can´t exactly call Wall Street Institute (a franchised English school here) and ask them to set me up with English classes, but Ángel sure can. So, methodically he has been calling around to various English schools and programs and gathering pricing plans and other information as well. Gosh, what a team we are!! I feel like such a spy!! English is a highly demanded language here, and even moreso if you are a native speaker/teacher (that´s where I will come in for our future business). Native speakers of English flock to Spain and post signs for private English classes as a way to pay their vacation, travels, bills, etc. Angel took one of those signs the other day that announced “clases de inglés, profesor nativo” (do I really have to translate that?) and called the number that appeared at the bottom of the flyer. When the phone was answered Ángel started to speak in Spanish asking questions about the class. The funniest thing happened...the person said (this much Ángel could understand in his limited English), “I´m sorry, I don´t speak Spanish, do you speak English?”. So Ángel, in his halting English said, “no (you idiot) that´s why I am calling you. To get English classes”... Now, THAT is a classic!
Survey of the month…
I like asking these survey questions, although not all of you like answering them! (hee hee). I feel that I learn so much more about my friends, family, and acquaintances…so thanks for sharing with me (and the rest of the folks)! Survey Question #3: Here in Spain, bilingual education is the direction of the future, particularly with the ongoing development of the European Union. Children learn English (mandatory) in school now at the age of 8, with serious discussions of lowering that age to 6. They have the option to learn a third language a little later on in their schooling. Do you think the United States (or your country) should encourage bilingual education? Why or why not? If so, which do you think should be the second language taught in schools?
Survey question #2: If you had the chance to "start your life over again", what would you do differently? Where would you live? How would your life be different/same? Dare to dream!
Responses:
Overall, as far as places go, I might have gone away to college in a different state - maybe somewhere in CA or Boston. I may have chosen to become a detective or FBI psychological profiler (God knows I have enough experience with psychos!). As for people, I would have trusted my initial instincts/gut feelings more and probably saved myself a lot of wasted energy/time in wrong relationships. But I still hope whatever path I took in life that I would have had the good fortune to have still met the great group of friends I have now!
I feel as if I have had the chance to start a new life in the past few years. Marriage and Motherhood are a far cry from the career-driven, 60 plus hour a week worker I was. I recently took the plunge from being a full-time executive to being a full-time Mom and part-time consultant. What a change, talk about developing new time management skills! Juggling career, kid, husband, home, family and friends is quite an act! If I could change anything I think I would see my friends more often. Sometimes I really miss those care free days where the biggest worry I had was choosing which outfits to take on a last minute weekend at the shore house, or who fighting it out over who is going to drive. But other than that I don't think I'd change a thing. (Okay, I did kind of always have a fantasy about being a singer in a band, and have men throwing themselves at me because I am so beautiful and talented!)
In response to your survey question, I would have gone far, far away for college (I didn't realize when I was 18 how much I would regret staying local later on) and would have studied abroad, probably in Italy. I didn't respond to last month's question, but I agree wholeheartedly with one of the responses, if we cannot use the damn metric system when the rest of the world is doing it, how could we possibly handle a change in currency?
I would live in the South of France, maybe Aix. I love the charm of the towns in the South of France. I would work in a medium size bookstore that has a cafe, and would coordinate special events for the bookstore. This is a 180 from where I work now in a large corporation. I would want a large apartment in the heart of the town with blue shutters and flower boxes of course!
Cultural Curiosities
I suppose with the spring time weather coming, I will not see one of my favorite “images” of Spanish life… that of the housewife, clad in her fur coat, walking to the local grocery store dragging her shopping cart behind her down the cobblestoned streets here in El Espinar. It is just such an ironic image, but so common here. In the states, the fur coat clad women are the ones stepping out of luxury cars as they attend the orchestra, opera, theater, or myriad of charity balls in the big city. Horrors should they ever be spotted lugging a very utilitarian shopping cart (not the metal Acme variety…these are isothermal upright rectangular boxes on two wheels) in their $15,000 fur coat! Just imagine the scene, the petite Spanish housewife with her huge fur coat, shoving her way into the already crowded pescadería (fish shop), greeting every other housewife on a first name basis, asking the fishman how fresh the fish is, and which is the catch of the day and asking who is last “in line” all in the same breath. Actually, I try not to breathe too hard in the fish shop...if you know what I mean!!!
The “in line” concept here in Spain is quite a unique and democratic one. When you first walk into the frutería (green grocer), pescadería (see above), carnicería (butcher), panadería (bread shop), you think that pure pandemonium exists. A gaggle of women all haggling over prices, talking about what their children are doing these days, how bad the snow is, how warm their house is...yaddah yaddah yaddah...What you don´t see is a line which indicates order of service (only the super and hyper markets use a numbered ticket system). However, everyone knows when it´s her turn. As each newcomer walks in, she asks (or shouts as need be) “who´s last?”... the last person identifies herself and so be it. Each person just keeps an eye out for the previous person to be served and voilà. Simple, democratic and orderly...despite appearances. I was really intimidated by these shops when I first got here ... until I learned the social rule.
Nowadays, Ángel and I are the modern Spanish couple, DINKS (I don´t think a term exists in Spainsh)... you know ... dual income no kids ... with both of us working, I don´t have the chance to go to the local shops as often, and we resort to doing our weekly shopping in the craziness of the hypermarkets such as Carrefour. Of course these hypermarkets are located in large commercial centers and navegating these immense stores is like navegating the King of Prussia Mall three days before Christmas. Yes, you get my drift. And of course, since we both work during the week, we really can only go on Saturdays since Sundays practically everything is closed. Here in Spain, grocery shopping is a family affair…Mom and Dad, the two screaming tykes (thankfully the Spaniards have given up on having the traditionally large Catholic family with 5+ kids) and quite frequently the grandparents too. Carrefour has kiddie sized carts to keep ´em busy...you often see the kids zipping up and down the isles with these tiny carts piled high with all the junkfood that they´ll convince Mom and Dad to buy. I just wonder how they all fit into the darned tiny cars here.
Multiculturalism ála Spain
So Ángel and I went out to eat yesterday in a Chinese restaurant. You know, something different than the octopus, squid and pork routine. It was the third or fourth time that we have been to one since I moved across the Atlantic. Here is a fascinating fact...fortune cookies are not served in Chinese restaurants here in Spain. In fact, they don´t even know what the heck I am talking about as I try to describe them. At first I thought it was simply a misunderstanding between my English-Spanish and their Chinese-Spanish...but nope. Not one single Chinese restaurant serves fortune cookies. So, then who started the Fortune Cookie Factory in Chinatown in Philadelphia?? Hmmmm... Have I been duped my whole life into thinking that those fortune cookies were really the wisdom of Confuscius? I´m so confused by Confuscius. Here the custom is to serve an after dinner liqueur with the bill, not fortune cookies. I kinda like this custom better!!
Of course, as the Chinese waiter and I struggle to have our profound conversation about the lack of Chinese fortune cookies in the Spanish-Chinese restaurants, Ángel pipes in with “Becky, why are you surprised, didn´t you know that they don´t even have Chinese restaurants in China”...oh the ever-funny-one that Ángel. I say, “yeah, ha ha ha!” and he then starts another profound conversation with our totally confused waiter about the lack of Chinese restaurants in China. And the kicker is that it´s true!! There are no Chinese restaurants, as we know them, in China. Oh the funny things that I learn here!
Learning English in Spain
We are deep in the throes of doing market research for our “English Academy”. I have gone on several job interviews here with other language schools for a variety of positions…everything from sales and marketing to English teacher to monitor to director of studies. I am not seriously interested in these positions, just seriously interested in knowing what the future competition does, what it charges, how its instructional method is formatted etc. Ángel, on the other hand is doing research on the actual English classes themselves. I can´t exactly call Wall Street Institute (a franchised English school here) and ask them to set me up with English classes, but Ángel sure can. So, methodically he has been calling around to various English schools and programs and gathering pricing plans and other information as well. Gosh, what a team we are!! I feel like such a spy!! English is a highly demanded language here, and even moreso if you are a native speaker/teacher (that´s where I will come in for our future business). Native speakers of English flock to Spain and post signs for private English classes as a way to pay their vacation, travels, bills, etc. Angel took one of those signs the other day that announced “clases de inglés, profesor nativo” (do I really have to translate that?) and called the number that appeared at the bottom of the flyer. When the phone was answered Ángel started to speak in Spanish asking questions about the class. The funniest thing happened...the person said (this much Ángel could understand in his limited English), “I´m sorry, I don´t speak Spanish, do you speak English?”. So Ángel, in his halting English said, “no (you idiot) that´s why I am calling you. To get English classes”... Now, THAT is a classic!
Survey of the month…
I like asking these survey questions, although not all of you like answering them! (hee hee). I feel that I learn so much more about my friends, family, and acquaintances…so thanks for sharing with me (and the rest of the folks)! Survey Question #3: Here in Spain, bilingual education is the direction of the future, particularly with the ongoing development of the European Union. Children learn English (mandatory) in school now at the age of 8, with serious discussions of lowering that age to 6. They have the option to learn a third language a little later on in their schooling. Do you think the United States (or your country) should encourage bilingual education? Why or why not? If so, which do you think should be the second language taught in schools?
Survey question #2: If you had the chance to "start your life over again", what would you do differently? Where would you live? How would your life be different/same? Dare to dream!
Responses:
Overall, as far as places go, I might have gone away to college in a different state - maybe somewhere in CA or Boston. I may have chosen to become a detective or FBI psychological profiler (God knows I have enough experience with psychos!). As for people, I would have trusted my initial instincts/gut feelings more and probably saved myself a lot of wasted energy/time in wrong relationships. But I still hope whatever path I took in life that I would have had the good fortune to have still met the great group of friends I have now!
I feel as if I have had the chance to start a new life in the past few years. Marriage and Motherhood are a far cry from the career-driven, 60 plus hour a week worker I was. I recently took the plunge from being a full-time executive to being a full-time Mom and part-time consultant. What a change, talk about developing new time management skills! Juggling career, kid, husband, home, family and friends is quite an act! If I could change anything I think I would see my friends more often. Sometimes I really miss those care free days where the biggest worry I had was choosing which outfits to take on a last minute weekend at the shore house, or who fighting it out over who is going to drive. But other than that I don't think I'd change a thing. (Okay, I did kind of always have a fantasy about being a singer in a band, and have men throwing themselves at me because I am so beautiful and talented!)
In response to your survey question, I would have gone far, far away for college (I didn't realize when I was 18 how much I would regret staying local later on) and would have studied abroad, probably in Italy. I didn't respond to last month's question, but I agree wholeheartedly with one of the responses, if we cannot use the damn metric system when the rest of the world is doing it, how could we possibly handle a change in currency?
I would live in the South of France, maybe Aix. I love the charm of the towns in the South of France. I would work in a medium size bookstore that has a cafe, and would coordinate special events for the bookstore. This is a 180 from where I work now in a large corporation. I would want a large apartment in the heart of the town with blue shutters and flower boxes of course!
Sunday, January 20, 2002
Humor, Driving and the Police
Spanish Humor
For those of you who have met DH (for more than 15 minutes), you will appreciate this bit. He recently has been entertaining himself by making me the brunt of his “jokes”. Remember the pigs blood story he told me about the slaughters in the pueblos and the newcomers drinking the blood? Well he has gotten me good a couple of times since then. The other day while driving home, he told me to make sure my lights were on. I told him they were. We traveled a few minutes in silence, then he said to make sure that I turn the rear lights on. I told him the lights were ON. He replied that in cars in Spain the headlights and tail lights operate with different switches. After amusedly watching me fumble around the panel for a few seconds, he bust out laughing. Ha ha ha, very funny.
Hare-Raising Sight
I get the chills every time I open my freezer door, and not because of the cold air that comes out (I get plenty of that just stepping out the front door). I get the chills from the seeing present that my brother-in-law brought me the other week. It´s stuck in an orange plastic bag with just a furry foot sticking out. See, he´s a small game hunter and it´s hunting season right now. The other week he hunted a few hares (yes, Easter Bunny´s country cousins). On his way back to Madrid, he stopped at our house and shoved the bag in my hands saying “here, a present for you!”. I couldn´t show any expression of disgust knowing how much he loves stewed hare (and of course the lengths he went to hunt it). The other day, my MIL explained how I should skin and clean the critter. These were her instructions (in Spanish of course) “First you unzip the jacket (cut vertically from the neck to the waist), “unbutton his pants (horizontal cut around the waist) and pull the pants off one leg at a time. Then you carefully remove the jacket one sleeve at a time…” Madre mía, heaven help me now! Please!!
Driving Spanish Style Part 2
As you know, I am desperately trying to learn how to drive stick shift (I miss driving more than I miss speaking English), but after 17 years of driving automatic I have difficulty remembering what the heck I am supposed to do with that third pedal and the stupid stick that´s in the way of the radio. What on earth is that grinding noise when I accidentally bump the stick anyway? Driving on the Spanish autopistas (highways) with cars whizzing by at rates in excess of 90-120 mph, managing the stick shift and clutch can be a bit unnerving, especially when I am merging onto the highway. Needless to say, I get sorta tense. Especially when I see signs announcing merging lanes in 500-300-200-100 meters. I have to really think about the distances (how many feet are there in a meter anyway??!!) to appropriately calculate my attempt at merging at 90 mph. One would think that it would be so easy to drive in a foreign country, but there are so many things that can throw you off, the average speed is just for starters. The signage is different, and of course roadside manners are also distinct. However, little by little I am gaining my confidence (can you believe it? Speedster drives slower than the average bear here! I miss the little Toyota that I had!)
A Brush With the Law
Last Thursday morning, we were nice and comfy in our pijamas (OK it was closer to noon,...Angel was working from our home office), with steamy mugs of café con leche, thinking about how warm we were inside with the nasty winter rain pounding the windows outside. I happened to glance out the window and see the all too familiar lights of the Guardia Civil (Spanish equivalent of State Police). “Interesting” I thought as the car slowly passed by our house (nothing ever happens here in our sleepy town of El Espinar). All of a sudden the car turned around and pulled into our driveway. “Uh-oh” I thought. A loud banging on the downstairs door had me running for decent clothes as I told Angel that the police were here. I think he wanted to run in the opposite direction (apparently I am not the ONLY ONE who pays their parking tickets late---and yes I paid all of mine!). With the police standing outside in the teeming rain, I could hear Angel say “Rebecca? Yes, she´s here. I am her husband, how can I help you?”. As soon as I heard that, I knew what they were here for and went directly for that specially marked green folder. That damn (sorry) folder that has been such a part of my life for the past year and a half. That damn (sorry) folder that has every legal document about my life tucked safely inside, from my birth certificate to our marriage certificate, our passports, our “libro de familia”, and of course my application for legal residency. Phew...the police were conducting the house check to confirm in fact that I lived here and that I have a valid passport, etc. etc….immigration Spanish style. Here in Spain, the police ARE your friends.
A Little Philosophical Observation
Many people thought I was crazy (some still do) for having dropped everything in the USA to move to Spain, saying it was going to be a challenge. Nonsense I thought. I speak Spanish fluently, I had been to Spain about 15 times (including a 10 month stay while in college, and at least 10 trips since meeting Angel), and have seen more of the country than most Spaniards. Besides, immigrants arrive everyday in the USA, many who don´t have the benefit of language skills or family/friends to support them, and survive just fine. I planned, researched, arranged, made contacts, and did everything one could humanly do to prepare for the “shock”, which I was convinced would not be so shocking, of switching cultures. As I sit here in 2002 and look back at what a whirlwind 2001 was for me, I have the chance to really reflect on the “shock” that I am slowly overcoming. In fact, it is one of our (Angel and mine) favorite topics of conversation. Just think about it, you take a single woman who was used to being totally in charge of her life and completely independent, with a great job (that was a grind...hi Sherri...at times), a decent social life, very involved in the community and church, Sunday dinners with her parents…and of course traveled to Spain at the drop of a hat. Strip her of all that (including Speedster´s beloved car), change her marital status, throw her in a small town-beach resort where they pass the time gossiping in a language that isn´t even Spanish, where if you aren´t Catholic you are a sinner, have her husband on the road all week...and she with nothing better to do than clean and iron...well...you get the picture.
Slowly I am getting my wings and beginning to fly. I am ecstatically happy in my job as an English teacher -- 3 months and counting – (heck, it´s the only time I speak any level of English!!) and am researching certification options, I now have a car that I am learning to drive (next week I will be driving sola...without Angel chirping commands in my ear “clutch, shift, clutch, shift, brake...I said BRAKE!!) and am currently in the process of writing a business plan for our English Academy!! Last week I organized the first women´s dining club here in Madrid ... the “sister” club to the one that I had launched in Philadelphia. 8 women, 4 countries and 3 languages. What an experience! Arriving home at 4:30am, I felt like a single woman again ha ha ha! (Angel played babysitter so my sister-in-law could join us!!!). Needless to say, things are great here. The best part is that I feel like I have been given a second life to achieve even more things...and of course to do some things differently. What a següe! Can you guess what survey question #2 is going to be? Reponses from the first survey are posted at the end of this message!
Survey Question #2: If you had the chance to “start your life over again”, what would you do differently? Where would you live? How would your life be different/same? Dare to dream! (Responses will be included with next month´s stories)
Survey Question 1: Here in Spain the Spaniards, despite the hassle of conversions, have received the change of currency to the Euro with open arms and very positively. Do you think that if North America (Canada, USA, Mexico) were ever to form one common currency that the Americans would so happily give up the dollar for some new sort of currency? Why or why not?
Here are Your Responses:
Most Americans probably feel that the dollar IS the one true currency of North America and if there was a change for uniformity then the change should not inconvenience us in any way shape or form.
Absolutely f****ng not!!!! Americans are waaaaaaay too arrogant, egotistical, and snotty to think that their dollar needs replacing. Doesn't the world know that they revolve around us? "yes, diversity is great, but assimilation is the way to go."
The U.S. and Canada will never share the same currency, nor would Americans ever go for something like that. The Euro was inspired by the U.S. Probably some political thing, you know. First off, the U.S. dollar is valued higher in Canada, so of course, Canadians really enjoy seeing U.S. $$ come across their register counters. How would the U.S. or Canada equivocate the monetary change? Devalue the U.S. dollar or inflate the Canadian economy?
I don't think Americans would be receptive to a change but maybe Mexico and Canada would?
I think you have been living in Europe longer than you realize. No way, Americans would never choose to change to a common North American currency! We are too in love with our dollars and our own independence. Think how mad people got about NAFTA. We can't even change to the metric system, for crying out loud, even though just about every other country has made the change in the name of long-run simplicity.
I don't believe Americans would so easily give up their dollar. It is the most coveted currency in the world. I saw a program on TLC that showed how they actually create the bank notes and that validated the fact that the American dollar is highly sought after. Also, if they decided to convert to one North American currency, you can bet that Mexico and Canada would be strong-armed into just making our greenback their currency - period. The two countries are basically US puppets.
My answer to the survey is "absolutely not". Americans are:
1. suspicious of change of any kind
2. too lazy to learn the pros vs. cons of the possible changes
3. too mathematically challenged to do the conversions.
I don't think Americans would welcome such a change to their currency. I'm not sure how to explain my rationale for this opinion. I believe most Americans are a bit narrow minded, believing everyone should have a capitalist, democratic government, everyone should speak English, drive on the right side of the road, and, of course, base their currency on our dollar. You might disagree with me, but your circle of friends is much more "worldly" and open minded than what I believe is more typical of most Americans. I work in the international division of my company and I see the difference in the "sheltered" Americans, the "open-minded" (exposed to international cultures) Americans, and the non-US born mind set. I also know many people whose parents came to the US from another country. The mind set at that time (for most of the people I know), was to "fit in" to America. Therefore, my friends were never taught their parents' language, etc. Today might be different, but I do think most Americans have a strong "team spirit." So strong that many think "our way or the highway." Now, if Mexico and Canada were to adopt the US dollar, I think most Americans would say, "It's about time. Now what about the rest of the world?!"
I really do think Americans would not change their monetary system, but would expect the Canadians or Mexicans to change to our system.
No, I don't think USA would so happily give up the dollar because I think the dollar is more than a currency symbol. It has come to represent national pride, freedom, and patriotism for our country and what it stands for. I think Americans would expect Canada and Mexico to switch to the dollar instead. That's my two cents!!
For those of you who have met DH (for more than 15 minutes), you will appreciate this bit. He recently has been entertaining himself by making me the brunt of his “jokes”. Remember the pigs blood story he told me about the slaughters in the pueblos and the newcomers drinking the blood? Well he has gotten me good a couple of times since then. The other day while driving home, he told me to make sure my lights were on. I told him they were. We traveled a few minutes in silence, then he said to make sure that I turn the rear lights on. I told him the lights were ON. He replied that in cars in Spain the headlights and tail lights operate with different switches. After amusedly watching me fumble around the panel for a few seconds, he bust out laughing. Ha ha ha, very funny.
Hare-Raising Sight
I get the chills every time I open my freezer door, and not because of the cold air that comes out (I get plenty of that just stepping out the front door). I get the chills from the seeing present that my brother-in-law brought me the other week. It´s stuck in an orange plastic bag with just a furry foot sticking out. See, he´s a small game hunter and it´s hunting season right now. The other week he hunted a few hares (yes, Easter Bunny´s country cousins). On his way back to Madrid, he stopped at our house and shoved the bag in my hands saying “here, a present for you!”. I couldn´t show any expression of disgust knowing how much he loves stewed hare (and of course the lengths he went to hunt it). The other day, my MIL explained how I should skin and clean the critter. These were her instructions (in Spanish of course) “First you unzip the jacket (cut vertically from the neck to the waist), “unbutton his pants (horizontal cut around the waist) and pull the pants off one leg at a time. Then you carefully remove the jacket one sleeve at a time…” Madre mía, heaven help me now! Please!!
Driving Spanish Style Part 2
As you know, I am desperately trying to learn how to drive stick shift (I miss driving more than I miss speaking English), but after 17 years of driving automatic I have difficulty remembering what the heck I am supposed to do with that third pedal and the stupid stick that´s in the way of the radio. What on earth is that grinding noise when I accidentally bump the stick anyway? Driving on the Spanish autopistas (highways) with cars whizzing by at rates in excess of 90-120 mph, managing the stick shift and clutch can be a bit unnerving, especially when I am merging onto the highway. Needless to say, I get sorta tense. Especially when I see signs announcing merging lanes in 500-300-200-100 meters. I have to really think about the distances (how many feet are there in a meter anyway??!!) to appropriately calculate my attempt at merging at 90 mph. One would think that it would be so easy to drive in a foreign country, but there are so many things that can throw you off, the average speed is just for starters. The signage is different, and of course roadside manners are also distinct. However, little by little I am gaining my confidence (can you believe it? Speedster drives slower than the average bear here! I miss the little Toyota that I had!)
A Brush With the Law
Last Thursday morning, we were nice and comfy in our pijamas (OK it was closer to noon,...Angel was working from our home office), with steamy mugs of café con leche, thinking about how warm we were inside with the nasty winter rain pounding the windows outside. I happened to glance out the window and see the all too familiar lights of the Guardia Civil (Spanish equivalent of State Police). “Interesting” I thought as the car slowly passed by our house (nothing ever happens here in our sleepy town of El Espinar). All of a sudden the car turned around and pulled into our driveway. “Uh-oh” I thought. A loud banging on the downstairs door had me running for decent clothes as I told Angel that the police were here. I think he wanted to run in the opposite direction (apparently I am not the ONLY ONE who pays their parking tickets late---and yes I paid all of mine!). With the police standing outside in the teeming rain, I could hear Angel say “Rebecca? Yes, she´s here. I am her husband, how can I help you?”. As soon as I heard that, I knew what they were here for and went directly for that specially marked green folder. That damn (sorry) folder that has been such a part of my life for the past year and a half. That damn (sorry) folder that has every legal document about my life tucked safely inside, from my birth certificate to our marriage certificate, our passports, our “libro de familia”, and of course my application for legal residency. Phew...the police were conducting the house check to confirm in fact that I lived here and that I have a valid passport, etc. etc….immigration Spanish style. Here in Spain, the police ARE your friends.
A Little Philosophical Observation
Many people thought I was crazy (some still do) for having dropped everything in the USA to move to Spain, saying it was going to be a challenge. Nonsense I thought. I speak Spanish fluently, I had been to Spain about 15 times (including a 10 month stay while in college, and at least 10 trips since meeting Angel), and have seen more of the country than most Spaniards. Besides, immigrants arrive everyday in the USA, many who don´t have the benefit of language skills or family/friends to support them, and survive just fine. I planned, researched, arranged, made contacts, and did everything one could humanly do to prepare for the “shock”, which I was convinced would not be so shocking, of switching cultures. As I sit here in 2002 and look back at what a whirlwind 2001 was for me, I have the chance to really reflect on the “shock” that I am slowly overcoming. In fact, it is one of our (Angel and mine) favorite topics of conversation. Just think about it, you take a single woman who was used to being totally in charge of her life and completely independent, with a great job (that was a grind...hi Sherri...at times), a decent social life, very involved in the community and church, Sunday dinners with her parents…and of course traveled to Spain at the drop of a hat. Strip her of all that (including Speedster´s beloved car), change her marital status, throw her in a small town-beach resort where they pass the time gossiping in a language that isn´t even Spanish, where if you aren´t Catholic you are a sinner, have her husband on the road all week...and she with nothing better to do than clean and iron...well...you get the picture.
Slowly I am getting my wings and beginning to fly. I am ecstatically happy in my job as an English teacher -- 3 months and counting – (heck, it´s the only time I speak any level of English!!) and am researching certification options, I now have a car that I am learning to drive (next week I will be driving sola...without Angel chirping commands in my ear “clutch, shift, clutch, shift, brake...I said BRAKE!!) and am currently in the process of writing a business plan for our English Academy!! Last week I organized the first women´s dining club here in Madrid ... the “sister” club to the one that I had launched in Philadelphia. 8 women, 4 countries and 3 languages. What an experience! Arriving home at 4:30am, I felt like a single woman again ha ha ha! (Angel played babysitter so my sister-in-law could join us!!!). Needless to say, things are great here. The best part is that I feel like I have been given a second life to achieve even more things...and of course to do some things differently. What a següe! Can you guess what survey question #2 is going to be? Reponses from the first survey are posted at the end of this message!
Survey Question #2: If you had the chance to “start your life over again”, what would you do differently? Where would you live? How would your life be different/same? Dare to dream! (Responses will be included with next month´s stories)
Survey Question 1: Here in Spain the Spaniards, despite the hassle of conversions, have received the change of currency to the Euro with open arms and very positively. Do you think that if North America (Canada, USA, Mexico) were ever to form one common currency that the Americans would so happily give up the dollar for some new sort of currency? Why or why not?
Here are Your Responses:
Most Americans probably feel that the dollar IS the one true currency of North America and if there was a change for uniformity then the change should not inconvenience us in any way shape or form.
Absolutely f****ng not!!!! Americans are waaaaaaay too arrogant, egotistical, and snotty to think that their dollar needs replacing. Doesn't the world know that they revolve around us? "yes, diversity is great, but assimilation is the way to go."
The U.S. and Canada will never share the same currency, nor would Americans ever go for something like that. The Euro was inspired by the U.S. Probably some political thing, you know. First off, the U.S. dollar is valued higher in Canada, so of course, Canadians really enjoy seeing U.S. $$ come across their register counters. How would the U.S. or Canada equivocate the monetary change? Devalue the U.S. dollar or inflate the Canadian economy?
I don't think Americans would be receptive to a change but maybe Mexico and Canada would?
I think you have been living in Europe longer than you realize. No way, Americans would never choose to change to a common North American currency! We are too in love with our dollars and our own independence. Think how mad people got about NAFTA. We can't even change to the metric system, for crying out loud, even though just about every other country has made the change in the name of long-run simplicity.
I don't believe Americans would so easily give up their dollar. It is the most coveted currency in the world. I saw a program on TLC that showed how they actually create the bank notes and that validated the fact that the American dollar is highly sought after. Also, if they decided to convert to one North American currency, you can bet that Mexico and Canada would be strong-armed into just making our greenback their currency - period. The two countries are basically US puppets.
My answer to the survey is "absolutely not". Americans are:
1. suspicious of change of any kind
2. too lazy to learn the pros vs. cons of the possible changes
3. too mathematically challenged to do the conversions.
I don't think Americans would welcome such a change to their currency. I'm not sure how to explain my rationale for this opinion. I believe most Americans are a bit narrow minded, believing everyone should have a capitalist, democratic government, everyone should speak English, drive on the right side of the road, and, of course, base their currency on our dollar. You might disagree with me, but your circle of friends is much more "worldly" and open minded than what I believe is more typical of most Americans. I work in the international division of my company and I see the difference in the "sheltered" Americans, the "open-minded" (exposed to international cultures) Americans, and the non-US born mind set. I also know many people whose parents came to the US from another country. The mind set at that time (for most of the people I know), was to "fit in" to America. Therefore, my friends were never taught their parents' language, etc. Today might be different, but I do think most Americans have a strong "team spirit." So strong that many think "our way or the highway." Now, if Mexico and Canada were to adopt the US dollar, I think most Americans would say, "It's about time. Now what about the rest of the world?!"
I really do think Americans would not change their monetary system, but would expect the Canadians or Mexicans to change to our system.
No, I don't think USA would so happily give up the dollar because I think the dollar is more than a currency symbol. It has come to represent national pride, freedom, and patriotism for our country and what it stands for. I think Americans would expect Canada and Mexico to switch to the dollar instead. That's my two cents!!
Friday, January 11, 2002
This Girl Has Got Wheels
Role Reversal
Spaniards have a bad rap for being chauvinistic. While it may be true in some cases (just as some American men can be quite sexist), in most cases I find European men to be very open to equality. DH, for one, is not afraid of the kitchen. I made fast friends with the town butcher when I walked in asking about fresh turkeys (I had hoped to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal). He informed me that there would not be any turkeys until December for Christmas (I am certain that he found it curious that a woman would be asking for a turkey off season) and then would most likely have to go to one of the larger shopping centers about 7 miles away. Alas, my turkey hunt was unsuccessful. The largest turkey I found here weighed in at 12 lbs. Hmmm...just a shade smaller than the 24lb bird my mother served on the other side of the Atlantic this year and nowhere near enough to feed 10+ hungry mouths! DH and I decided to serve lamb instead...a luxury here in Spain. We got a great deal...990 pesetas per kilo, (roughly $2.36 per lb.) so we bought half a lamb. We have enough meat to see us through the rest of the winter! It was DH who wanted to roast the lamb although he had never done so in his life. He would lay up at night reading the only Spanish cookbook I own, learning the techniques of basting and browning. Needless to say the roasted lamb turned out phenomenal. So much so, that when his mother wanted to roast lamb chops the other day, she called us to ask DH for tips and for the recipe of the sauce that he used to baste the meat. I chuckled at the thought! Since then, we treated his family to a roast suckling pig for New Year´s Eve dinner...the roasting of course being handled by DH. Then again, my family in the States has already been exposed to his culinary tendencies. When we were in San Francisco, together we whipped up a couple of good meals and also helped my sis and her hubby pull off their post-wedding brunch. Hmmm...do I see a Tapas Bar in our future??
Driving Spanish Style
I have a car! It´s Eurochic and very very tiny...a Fiat Uno.
Third hand and just perfect for me to beat into the ground as I learn to drive stick shift!! It´s hard to erase 17 years of automatic driving and get used to a third pedal in order to increase speed and change gears. Some days are better than others. On one of my first forays out onto a back country road, I had a nice obstacle course of an errant cow (who decided the grass was greener on the other side of the pasture fence), a stray dog and a bunch of tired hikers. YIKES! I should note that cows do not hurry up to get out of the way, in fact, you don´t even exist. DH has been more than patient as the gears grind and the car bucks (when I am in too low of a gear). What fun. I have tested my skills in the snow and in the rain. I had a particularly frustrating day yesterday when I was incapable of driving 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) without the car stalling on me four times. I finally pulled over to let DH drive and a caravan of 25 cars roared past me. Oops! So much for one lane roads! I did, however, manage to drive the car by myself all the way to Madrid the other day (35 miles) following hubby. And the car only stalled out 3 times! I will eventually have to take my driving exam here in Spain after I get my residency card. The frustrating thing is that I will be considered a novice driver and will have special driving restrictions placed upon me for a period of 24 months... including much lower maximum speed limits. Harrumphhh!
Euro Euro Euro
Happy New Euro to you too! The long awaited Euro is now here! Just when I thought my life in Spain was getting easier...they had to screw me up with one more calculation! Just when I figured out what a reasonable price was to pay for a KILO of beef in pesetas (without being ripped off), they had to go and change the currency on me. So, now I stand in line at the supermarket and mentally calculate that one kilo is 2.2 lbs (and is 2.2 lbs of meat too much for chili con carne for two people?? J ), and that 1 Euro is 166.386 pesetas. All while being pushed and shoved by the Spanish marujas with their shopping carts. This is getting a little complicated here! To make matters worse, both currencies will co-exist here in Spain until the end of Feburary at which time the Spanish peseta will be completely phased out and no longer a valid currency. Can it get any complicated? YEP. The businesses are required to always give change in Euros. So, even if you pay in pesetas, you will return your change in Euros. The real kicker is that many of the ATM machines have not yet been converted over and are still spewing out pesetas. I am getting a headache just thinking about it. It cracks me up to see all the people out shopping with their calculators in hand, but it´s a reality and something that we all have to deal with. The good thing is that the Euro is almost equal to the dollar, which conceivably should make my shopping easier, but as you surely noticed with the price of lamb, the cost of living here is different, so what may seem cheap to Americans in terms of dollars (or Euros), may actually be outrageous prices to pay in Spain. Of course, many many businesses here are taking advantage of the change to increase their revenues and charge more just to have a decent psychological price. For example, a dozen eggs costs on the average 169 pesetas…that converts to 1.01571 Euros. Following the mathematical rules of rounding, the price then should be 169 pesetas or 1.02 Euros. Because merchants see this as an “ugly” psychological price (not that 169 is any prettier), many have been rounding the price of eggs up to 1.10 Euros. What´s a few cents you say? A lot when this practice is being applied to everything from eggs to gasoline to clothing… and such a “rounding up” is not applied to the household income.
Miscellaneous
I have been invited to a pig slaughter. Apparently, something that Spaniards make a party of (what don´t they make a party of??). My father-in-law and his sister went halfsies on a pig and are going to have it slaughtered and have a little (big??) party. DH had told me about these public slaughters and told me that the tradition is that the new woman in town has to drink the pig´s blood. So, when my father-in-law invited me to attend withDH , I vehemently said NO! DH´s brother was surprised by my reaction figuring that I would like the adventure. When I told them that I had no intention of drinking the fresh blood, they all burst out laughing. Hmmm seems like SOMEONE told me a tall tale. I´ll get him good.
We went to Madrid on New Year´s day for a nice dinner and a movie. I highly recommend the movie, Khandahar. Sure was an eye-opener. Denmark has submitted it for an Oscar. You will most likely find it at any independent movie theater not at the AMC chains. Go see it, please. Although it is a fictional story line, it certainly gives us a greater understanding of Afghanistan´s plight.
Survey Question
With my Life in Spain stories this year, I am going to include a survey question and will include the answers in next issue. That way, you can all help to “write” them for me! So, here it goes…
Here in Spain the Spaniards, despite the hassle of conversions, have received the change of currency to the Euro with open arms and very positively. Do you think that if North America (Canada, USA, Mexico) were ever to form one common currency that the Americans would so happily give up the dollar for some new sort of currency? Why or why not?
P.S. This is an actual question that some Spaniards have asked me.
Spaniards have a bad rap for being chauvinistic. While it may be true in some cases (just as some American men can be quite sexist), in most cases I find European men to be very open to equality. DH, for one, is not afraid of the kitchen. I made fast friends with the town butcher when I walked in asking about fresh turkeys (I had hoped to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal). He informed me that there would not be any turkeys until December for Christmas (I am certain that he found it curious that a woman would be asking for a turkey off season) and then would most likely have to go to one of the larger shopping centers about 7 miles away. Alas, my turkey hunt was unsuccessful. The largest turkey I found here weighed in at 12 lbs. Hmmm...just a shade smaller than the 24lb bird my mother served on the other side of the Atlantic this year and nowhere near enough to feed 10+ hungry mouths! DH and I decided to serve lamb instead...a luxury here in Spain. We got a great deal...990 pesetas per kilo, (roughly $2.36 per lb.) so we bought half a lamb. We have enough meat to see us through the rest of the winter! It was DH who wanted to roast the lamb although he had never done so in his life. He would lay up at night reading the only Spanish cookbook I own, learning the techniques of basting and browning. Needless to say the roasted lamb turned out phenomenal. So much so, that when his mother wanted to roast lamb chops the other day, she called us to ask DH for tips and for the recipe of the sauce that he used to baste the meat. I chuckled at the thought! Since then, we treated his family to a roast suckling pig for New Year´s Eve dinner...the roasting of course being handled by DH. Then again, my family in the States has already been exposed to his culinary tendencies. When we were in San Francisco, together we whipped up a couple of good meals and also helped my sis and her hubby pull off their post-wedding brunch. Hmmm...do I see a Tapas Bar in our future??
Driving Spanish Style
I have a car! It´s Eurochic and very very tiny...a Fiat Uno.
Third hand and just perfect for me to beat into the ground as I learn to drive stick shift!! It´s hard to erase 17 years of automatic driving and get used to a third pedal in order to increase speed and change gears. Some days are better than others. On one of my first forays out onto a back country road, I had a nice obstacle course of an errant cow (who decided the grass was greener on the other side of the pasture fence), a stray dog and a bunch of tired hikers. YIKES! I should note that cows do not hurry up to get out of the way, in fact, you don´t even exist. DH has been more than patient as the gears grind and the car bucks (when I am in too low of a gear). What fun. I have tested my skills in the snow and in the rain. I had a particularly frustrating day yesterday when I was incapable of driving 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) without the car stalling on me four times. I finally pulled over to let DH drive and a caravan of 25 cars roared past me. Oops! So much for one lane roads! I did, however, manage to drive the car by myself all the way to Madrid the other day (35 miles) following hubby. And the car only stalled out 3 times! I will eventually have to take my driving exam here in Spain after I get my residency card. The frustrating thing is that I will be considered a novice driver and will have special driving restrictions placed upon me for a period of 24 months... including much lower maximum speed limits. Harrumphhh!Euro Euro Euro
Happy New Euro to you too! The long awaited Euro is now here! Just when I thought my life in Spain was getting easier...they had to screw me up with one more calculation! Just when I figured out what a reasonable price was to pay for a KILO of beef in pesetas (without being ripped off), they had to go and change the currency on me. So, now I stand in line at the supermarket and mentally calculate that one kilo is 2.2 lbs (and is 2.2 lbs of meat too much for chili con carne for two people?? J ), and that 1 Euro is 166.386 pesetas. All while being pushed and shoved by the Spanish marujas with their shopping carts. This is getting a little complicated here! To make matters worse, both currencies will co-exist here in Spain until the end of Feburary at which time the Spanish peseta will be completely phased out and no longer a valid currency. Can it get any complicated? YEP. The businesses are required to always give change in Euros. So, even if you pay in pesetas, you will return your change in Euros. The real kicker is that many of the ATM machines have not yet been converted over and are still spewing out pesetas. I am getting a headache just thinking about it. It cracks me up to see all the people out shopping with their calculators in hand, but it´s a reality and something that we all have to deal with. The good thing is that the Euro is almost equal to the dollar, which conceivably should make my shopping easier, but as you surely noticed with the price of lamb, the cost of living here is different, so what may seem cheap to Americans in terms of dollars (or Euros), may actually be outrageous prices to pay in Spain. Of course, many many businesses here are taking advantage of the change to increase their revenues and charge more just to have a decent psychological price. For example, a dozen eggs costs on the average 169 pesetas…that converts to 1.01571 Euros. Following the mathematical rules of rounding, the price then should be 169 pesetas or 1.02 Euros. Because merchants see this as an “ugly” psychological price (not that 169 is any prettier), many have been rounding the price of eggs up to 1.10 Euros. What´s a few cents you say? A lot when this practice is being applied to everything from eggs to gasoline to clothing… and such a “rounding up” is not applied to the household income.
Miscellaneous
I have been invited to a pig slaughter. Apparently, something that Spaniards make a party of (what don´t they make a party of??). My father-in-law and his sister went halfsies on a pig and are going to have it slaughtered and have a little (big??) party. DH had told me about these public slaughters and told me that the tradition is that the new woman in town has to drink the pig´s blood. So, when my father-in-law invited me to attend withDH , I vehemently said NO! DH´s brother was surprised by my reaction figuring that I would like the adventure. When I told them that I had no intention of drinking the fresh blood, they all burst out laughing. Hmmm seems like SOMEONE told me a tall tale. I´ll get him good.
We went to Madrid on New Year´s day for a nice dinner and a movie. I highly recommend the movie, Khandahar. Sure was an eye-opener. Denmark has submitted it for an Oscar. You will most likely find it at any independent movie theater not at the AMC chains. Go see it, please. Although it is a fictional story line, it certainly gives us a greater understanding of Afghanistan´s plight.
Survey Question
With my Life in Spain stories this year, I am going to include a survey question and will include the answers in next issue. That way, you can all help to “write” them for me! So, here it goes…
Here in Spain the Spaniards, despite the hassle of conversions, have received the change of currency to the Euro with open arms and very positively. Do you think that if North America (Canada, USA, Mexico) were ever to form one common currency that the Americans would so happily give up the dollar for some new sort of currency? Why or why not?
P.S. This is an actual question that some Spaniards have asked me.
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