Forever Young
I was always reminded of my years at LVC serving as one of the DJs in the campus social club whenever I heard the song Forever Young by the one-hit-wonder group Alphaville.... that is until I went to my local Madrid food market, “Los Mares” for the first time.
I turned 36 this past January... hard to believe. I had a moment (or two) of crisis as I began to think about my age and get anxious about it. To make matters worse, I started to think about my friends from Lebanon Valley College, from Radnor High School and from many of my life journeys ... the ones that are married with kids. I stopped and thought, “where on earth has time gone??” (by the way, please don´t stop sending the kiddie pics... I love them!). It got me down a bit. Ángel tried cheering me up by reminding me that he was turning 40. Ufff....
Then, I discovered a miracle cure for this age-related depression. Actually, it´s a great pick-me-up anytime I am feeling down... I go shopping at Los Mares. You have to understand that shopping at Los Mares in and of itself is an adventure... a journey into a land of mixed smells... fresh fish with fresh baked bread, aged cheese with hanging ham hocks. It´s also a visual journey full of vibrant colors and activity. From the brightly colored fruits to the blood red meats, a rainbow of seafood. And the din... from the fish mongers to the frutero (green grocer), the butchers, etc... calling out to the clients, reconfirming orders asking about grandchildren, offering samples of their foods. It´s true pleasure for the senses. But this isn´t the real cure...
The cure is the special treatment that I get every time I go. From the butcher calling me joven... "¿qué más joven?" ("what else young lady?") to the poultry man calling me his queen:
Me: can I have a dozen eggs please?
Him: what else my queen?
Me: half a kilo of chicken breasts cut into filets.
Him: Anything else beautiful?
It´s enough to make any woman leave floating. Of course, I have to mention that I hit another small bout of depre (depression) when I heard them talking to a woman of about 70 in the same manner as they spoke with me. It´s all a farce I thought. But that´s ok... I have learned to accept the piropos (compliments) and let them be my pick-me-up for the day. Now whenever I enter the market, invariably I am humming “Forever Young”.
Summer weather in June
This past week the temperatures hit 40º celsius in the shade. That translates to 104ºF. As I commented to my sister the other day... one really begins to develop an appreciation for why the Spaniards take such long and leisurely lunches/siestas midday. It´s just so darned hot that you can´t really do much else. Too bad that doesn't seem to be the norm in stressed-out, work-crazed Madrid. The heat is asphyxiating.
I´m also convinced that heat drives people out of their homes. Which might explain the visits that I have been receiving from Miguel. He first came by the office when I was in class with another client two weeks ago. He was content to wait the 30 minutes until I finished. He excitedly explained that he MUST learn English. He told me that in today´s world English was absolutely necessary. I don´t disagree with him... especially to get ahead in the labor market here in Spain. However, Miguel is about 75 years old!!! Since his initial visit, he has come back twice. I finally gave him a level test to assess his level of English. He has a surprisingly ample vocabulary. When I handed him the test he asked, what do I do? Translate the questions in Spanish? No, I answered him. You answer them in English”. In English?! He was astonished. He told me, I don´t know English which is why I want you to teach me. Then he asked me to pronounce a few random words in English and giggled with delight at my “perfect pronunciation”. I hope I can learn to speak as well as you can!
May there be more Miguel´s in this life!
Life´s Circles
Back in 1987 when I was here studying at the Universidad de Madrid Complutense, I became friends with Javier F. Javier was my intercambio (language exchange partner). We would go out a couple of times a week with two specific objectives... for him to improve his English and for me to improve my Spanish. After a few beers, we never ran out of topics of discussion. He introduced me to his circle of friends which included Pepe, Antonio, and Carlos. Pepe and Carlos were law students and Antonio was studying medicine. I started going out with all of them feeling very much a part of the sophisticated Euro culture of having a leisurely cup of coffee in an outdoor terrace (long before Starbucks was a household name). After awhile, Pepe and company lost touch with Javier, as did I. However, I remained in contact with Pepe and continued going out with them until my semester ended. For the next couple of years, I exchanged Christmas cards with Pepe, but eventually lost touch as the years passed. A year ago, I was watching TV here in Madrid... thinking about the olden days of studying here... and the friends that I had. Suddenly, on the news I saw a guy that I could have sworn was Pepe. The man was a lawyer giving a press conference about the music industry and the illegal piracy. For a month I kept debating the idea and then finally sat down and wrote him a note and sent it to the only address that I had for him. The weeks, then months passed and I never heard from him. I was a bit disappointed but figured, what the heck... he is a big time lawyer now and probably doesn´t even remember me!
I was in the office this morning when the phone rang. I answered it with a “good morning”. A Spanish male voice on the other end asked to speak with “Becky”. Those of you who have visited me here will know that most everyone Spanish calls me Rebecca. I suppose it´s more Spanish sounding than “Becky”. I was a bit taken aback as I didn´t recognize the voice. I said “this is Becky”. The male voice continued, “I bet you don´t know who I am”. I responded, “continue talking I´m sure I´ll recognize the voice”. The unknown voice said, “you´ll have to remember back 17 years”. No, I thought. It can´t be. Then the voice continued... "Becky, it´s Pepe". Pepe! I screamed! It was so exciting to hear from him. He went on to tell me that he hadn´t seen Carlos in about 15 years, but recently got a call from him because Carlos had received a call from Javier! Now we are all planning to get together for dinner with our respective spouses. I´ll have to report back on how it went!
The first few weeks of July are going to be busy! I have gotten the usual calls/emails from passers-through. First on the agenda is Penny K. She arrives tomorrow with a group from Villanova University. I think we´ll invite her to our house for dinner if her tight agenda allows it. Next comes Dr. Iglesias, my college Spanish professor. She´s in town for a conference and we are planning on getting together at some point before she returns to the States. Then comes my sister and her friend Vanya visiting from St. Petersburg, Russia. I am sure that they will melt once they feel the temps that we have been experiencing here! Ángel and I are hoping to escape the second half of August to the mountains in the north to do a little camping and hiking before the high season of English teaching really kicks in in September/October. Hopefully this fall we will be seeing former roomie Liz and her hubby Mike as they pass through Madrid on their way to the beach. Any others planning their European getaway? You know where we are so feel free to look us up!
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Monday, March 15, 2004
Despicable Terrorism
Contemplating What It All Means
I am forever asking you all to forgive my silence (all though it´s not really possible to shut me up completely!). The unfortunate events that took place here in Madrid on March 11th have given me, and plenty of other people, a second look at life and I wonder what it really all means. I have become a news junkie ever since marrying Ángel. I mean, current affairs were always an interest of mine, but now (over the past three years) even moreso as I struggle to feel connected to one country or another someway, somehow. When September 11th happened, I couldn´t help but feel like I was viewing the drama from high above. Connected, but yet not really connected. Connected because the USA is my country, yet disconnected once I knew that my family and friends were safe and not in any imminent danger. The same happened here for me in Madrid. I felt connected as my path crossed with many who were closely affected by the bombings, yet at the same time I felt disconnected, almost untouchable... as if the bombings would have never been able to hurt me or any of my loved ones. It was a strange out-of-body feeling.
I keep up with the news from the USA as much as possible. I read the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, The Economist, scan CCN, scan Fox News, check Reuters and the BBC, not to mention the Spanish press. A healthy mix of left and right wing opinions and views. I like to think that I am fairly well versed in what is happening in my country, and around the world for that matter. However, I haven´t been able to come to a clear conclusion about what the March 11th bombings mean for Spain and the world.
Despite what is appearing in the (right wing) press in the United States, I do not believe that the Spaniards voted out of cowardice. Nor do I believe that they “voted” for Al Quaeda. However, I DO believe that what happened here, and the recent change in government (certainly not abrupt since the political race was neck and neck with the right leaning Partido Popular –PP – only slightly ahead) was a pure statement of democracy. Over the past two years there have been demonstrations against the war in Iraq, against the war in Afghanistan, the John Lennon “give peace a chance” parties, etc. While I don´t necessarily subscribe to these ways of expressing opinion, I´d be foolish not to mention that the Spanish culture is a very vocal culture. It is not one to conform or to run away in fear. It is one to demonstrate publicly about its displeasure (and it´s pleasure) of social issues. With the elections at hand, the Spanish population overall, was getting fed up with the governing party ... the attacks on March 11th were merely the straw that broke the camel´s back. People came out in record numbers to vote. The news here says that this year 75% of the eligible population voted, 2 million more than the year before. That, my friends, is a democracy, not an act of cowardiceness.
I did attend the peaceful protest against violent crime and terrorism in the streets of Madrid on Friday March 12, with Ángel, his brother and his brother´s wife... in the pouring rain with our umbrellas and candles. It was an extremely moving moment for me. Never in my life (so far as I can remember) have I ever felt such a strange mix of emotions. What moved me even more was to think that in Madrid alone, I was in a crowd of 2 MILLION people protesting. JUST IN MADRID! The Spaniards, after the horrific bombing which, when you compare the size of Spain --40 million -- to the USA --almost 300 million and damage –200+ deaths to 2000(?) deaths, can be considered Spain´s “September 11th” did not run and hide in their homes for fear of another attack. They took to the streets in angry defiance at the thought that someone(s) would so as dare attack the country. Overall, on that fated March 12th, an estimated 11 million people in Spain, ONE QUARTER OF THE POPULATION, took to the streets in peaceful, yet visibly angry defiance of such violence.
I have never been fond of the idea that the USA was taking a pre-emptive strike against Iraq...nor have I ever been really fond of José Luis Zapatero the new Prime Minister-elect of Spain. José María Áznar, Spain´s outgoing Prime Minister, ... I had learned to deal with although not necessarily agree with.
I suppose I am in a wait and see mode to see how these elections will affect, if at all, world politics and particularly the November elections in the States.
Perhaps I have bored a number of you with my political rants...but I would certainly welcome responses, feedback, and/or debate on the issue.
OK...off my soap box and onto lighter dribble.
An Expat´s Life
It is said that it takes an expat (expatriate...such as yours truly) anywhere from 3-5 years to fully adjust and feel at home in their new country. I am trusting that my familiarity with Spain and ability with the Spanish language has reduced my learning curve to the minimum 3 years. That being the case, next month, April 16th to be precise, marks my 3 year anniversary living here in Spain. Hard to believe that it has been that long already. My memories of life in the USA...particularly the last moments, will be forever crystal clear in my mind... and they almost always bring a smile to my face. According to those 3-5 year statistics...everything from here on out should be cake for me. It has definitely been an interesting ride and time in my life, these last 3 years...I can´t help but wonder if they would have been as varied and “drama filled” had I stayed in the States. Then again, I never really did have a boring life in the USA either. My favorite motto... better busy than bored!
On the wild rollercoaster of life!
So, we have finally launched our on-the-street marketing campaign for IberEnglish Language Partners. As I said in one of my classes, and had the students in stitches ... it has been a long pregnancy (2 years)! Our soft marketing campaign has consisted of papering our neighborhood walls and parked cars, within a walkable distance to our offices, with small posters and flyers about the business. It has been a great way to know first hand the demographics of our neighborhood. We have been in campaign mode for a month and so far have pulled in five new students. Plus, a couple of drop-ins and other callers to gather information about what we offer. All this, along with the four different corporate classes (in-company) I teach. We have worked our numbers and calculated that our maximum capacity, operating two classrooms simultaneously is 100 students. It will be a while before we reach that number, but we are well on our way. We are also technologically official now that we have registered our domain: IberEnglish Language Partners. Ángel, man-of-many-talents, is the webmaster and as you will see, the site is in plena desarrollo (development) as we speak. Be sure to check back often to see our progress! The “Iber” part of our name stands for the Iberian Penninsula which is comprised of Spain, Portugal and Andorra. There are lots of businesses here that start with Iber and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that no one had registered “IberEnglish”. Don´t let anyone kid you....running your own business is more difficult than working for others! I start my first class at 8am and teach back to back classes, occasionally with little more than an hour in between straight through until 9:30pm. Then, if I have any translation work... that gets added on at the end or between classes.
It´s a Pig´s Life
In one of my previous editions of “life in Spain” many moons ago, I mentioned the tradition of “La Matanza”. Those of you who understand Spanish might understand that that loosely translates to “the killing” or better yet, “the slaughter”. Well this year, between Ángel and his brother (and of course with the blessing of their respective spouses), decided to buy a pig to slaughter and have a traditional “matanza”. This tradition is usually carried out in families and takes place over several days (or in our case, a couple of weekends). We bought a nice big fat pig and took it to a vet to have it inspected and approved and then slaughtered. From there, we brought it to Ángel Sr.´s workshop where he proceeded to butcher it...saving the ham hocks for cured ham... cutting out choice pork loins, separating the brains, etc ... you get the picture. We took some of the meat and ran it through a hand operated meat grinder to make my favorite Spanish sausage, chorizo. Added the seasonings and stuffed the intestines to make more chorizo than I dare dream about. We then cooked the blood with onion and added cooked rice and pine nuts to make morcilla, or blood sausage/blood pudding. Yum yum! Once I got over the initial queasiness of seeing a slaughtered pig on the floor with various parts lying about, the sausage making was actually quite fun!
What did make me a bit queasy was one of the dishes my mother-in-law prepared. All I saw her do was scramble some eggs... I did not notice the ingredients that she threw in at the last moment. When we sat down to eat, she asked me if I wanted some “huevos con sesos”. I didn´t know the word sesos but, so what, I´m adventurous! When she served me the eggs, I asked her where the sesos were.. she said they were already mixed in. Still not knowing I took a mouthful and then caught everyone looking at me expectantly! Of course, Ángel had to be the one to rain on the parade and oh-so-lovingly explained that sesos was another word for materia gris or cerebro or, in English... BRAINS! I felt my stomach turn literally in knots and couldn´t take another bite! The other lovely dish that she prepared were pig jowls in tomato sauce. It actually wasn´t that bad... it was just the thought that made me a little nauseous.
Life Goes On
Life goes on... I´m enjoying contact with lots of interesting people and am anxiously awaiting Semana Santa (Holy Week)since Ángel has promised to take me camping in the mountains of central northwestern Spain. That will be fun! Please keep me up to date with what is going on in your lives! I love getting emails about the babies, the marriages, new connections, old friendships. So do stay in touch... and if you are ever thinking of heading our way...don´t hesitate to look us up! Even if it´s only to meet for cerveza and tapas! We´d love to see you!
I am forever asking you all to forgive my silence (all though it´s not really possible to shut me up completely!). The unfortunate events that took place here in Madrid on March 11th have given me, and plenty of other people, a second look at life and I wonder what it really all means. I have become a news junkie ever since marrying Ángel. I mean, current affairs were always an interest of mine, but now (over the past three years) even moreso as I struggle to feel connected to one country or another someway, somehow. When September 11th happened, I couldn´t help but feel like I was viewing the drama from high above. Connected, but yet not really connected. Connected because the USA is my country, yet disconnected once I knew that my family and friends were safe and not in any imminent danger. The same happened here for me in Madrid. I felt connected as my path crossed with many who were closely affected by the bombings, yet at the same time I felt disconnected, almost untouchable... as if the bombings would have never been able to hurt me or any of my loved ones. It was a strange out-of-body feeling.
I keep up with the news from the USA as much as possible. I read the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, The Economist, scan CCN, scan Fox News, check Reuters and the BBC, not to mention the Spanish press. A healthy mix of left and right wing opinions and views. I like to think that I am fairly well versed in what is happening in my country, and around the world for that matter. However, I haven´t been able to come to a clear conclusion about what the March 11th bombings mean for Spain and the world.
Despite what is appearing in the (right wing) press in the United States, I do not believe that the Spaniards voted out of cowardice. Nor do I believe that they “voted” for Al Quaeda. However, I DO believe that what happened here, and the recent change in government (certainly not abrupt since the political race was neck and neck with the right leaning Partido Popular –PP – only slightly ahead) was a pure statement of democracy. Over the past two years there have been demonstrations against the war in Iraq, against the war in Afghanistan, the John Lennon “give peace a chance” parties, etc. While I don´t necessarily subscribe to these ways of expressing opinion, I´d be foolish not to mention that the Spanish culture is a very vocal culture. It is not one to conform or to run away in fear. It is one to demonstrate publicly about its displeasure (and it´s pleasure) of social issues. With the elections at hand, the Spanish population overall, was getting fed up with the governing party ... the attacks on March 11th were merely the straw that broke the camel´s back. People came out in record numbers to vote. The news here says that this year 75% of the eligible population voted, 2 million more than the year before. That, my friends, is a democracy, not an act of cowardiceness.
I did attend the peaceful protest against violent crime and terrorism in the streets of Madrid on Friday March 12, with Ángel, his brother and his brother´s wife... in the pouring rain with our umbrellas and candles. It was an extremely moving moment for me. Never in my life (so far as I can remember) have I ever felt such a strange mix of emotions. What moved me even more was to think that in Madrid alone, I was in a crowd of 2 MILLION people protesting. JUST IN MADRID! The Spaniards, after the horrific bombing which, when you compare the size of Spain --40 million -- to the USA --almost 300 million and damage –200+ deaths to 2000(?) deaths, can be considered Spain´s “September 11th” did not run and hide in their homes for fear of another attack. They took to the streets in angry defiance at the thought that someone(s) would so as dare attack the country. Overall, on that fated March 12th, an estimated 11 million people in Spain, ONE QUARTER OF THE POPULATION, took to the streets in peaceful, yet visibly angry defiance of such violence.
I have never been fond of the idea that the USA was taking a pre-emptive strike against Iraq...nor have I ever been really fond of José Luis Zapatero the new Prime Minister-elect of Spain. José María Áznar, Spain´s outgoing Prime Minister, ... I had learned to deal with although not necessarily agree with.
I suppose I am in a wait and see mode to see how these elections will affect, if at all, world politics and particularly the November elections in the States.
Perhaps I have bored a number of you with my political rants...but I would certainly welcome responses, feedback, and/or debate on the issue.
OK...off my soap box and onto lighter dribble.
An Expat´s Life
It is said that it takes an expat (expatriate...such as yours truly) anywhere from 3-5 years to fully adjust and feel at home in their new country. I am trusting that my familiarity with Spain and ability with the Spanish language has reduced my learning curve to the minimum 3 years. That being the case, next month, April 16th to be precise, marks my 3 year anniversary living here in Spain. Hard to believe that it has been that long already. My memories of life in the USA...particularly the last moments, will be forever crystal clear in my mind... and they almost always bring a smile to my face. According to those 3-5 year statistics...everything from here on out should be cake for me. It has definitely been an interesting ride and time in my life, these last 3 years...I can´t help but wonder if they would have been as varied and “drama filled” had I stayed in the States. Then again, I never really did have a boring life in the USA either. My favorite motto... better busy than bored!
On the wild rollercoaster of life!
So, we have finally launched our on-the-street marketing campaign for IberEnglish Language Partners. As I said in one of my classes, and had the students in stitches ... it has been a long pregnancy (2 years)! Our soft marketing campaign has consisted of papering our neighborhood walls and parked cars, within a walkable distance to our offices, with small posters and flyers about the business. It has been a great way to know first hand the demographics of our neighborhood. We have been in campaign mode for a month and so far have pulled in five new students. Plus, a couple of drop-ins and other callers to gather information about what we offer. All this, along with the four different corporate classes (in-company) I teach. We have worked our numbers and calculated that our maximum capacity, operating two classrooms simultaneously is 100 students. It will be a while before we reach that number, but we are well on our way. We are also technologically official now that we have registered our domain: IberEnglish Language Partners. Ángel, man-of-many-talents, is the webmaster and as you will see, the site is in plena desarrollo (development) as we speak. Be sure to check back often to see our progress! The “Iber” part of our name stands for the Iberian Penninsula which is comprised of Spain, Portugal and Andorra. There are lots of businesses here that start with Iber and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that no one had registered “IberEnglish”. Don´t let anyone kid you....running your own business is more difficult than working for others! I start my first class at 8am and teach back to back classes, occasionally with little more than an hour in between straight through until 9:30pm. Then, if I have any translation work... that gets added on at the end or between classes.
It´s a Pig´s Life
In one of my previous editions of “life in Spain” many moons ago, I mentioned the tradition of “La Matanza”. Those of you who understand Spanish might understand that that loosely translates to “the killing” or better yet, “the slaughter”. Well this year, between Ángel and his brother (and of course with the blessing of their respective spouses), decided to buy a pig to slaughter and have a traditional “matanza”. This tradition is usually carried out in families and takes place over several days (or in our case, a couple of weekends). We bought a nice big fat pig and took it to a vet to have it inspected and approved and then slaughtered. From there, we brought it to Ángel Sr.´s workshop where he proceeded to butcher it...saving the ham hocks for cured ham... cutting out choice pork loins, separating the brains, etc ... you get the picture. We took some of the meat and ran it through a hand operated meat grinder to make my favorite Spanish sausage, chorizo. Added the seasonings and stuffed the intestines to make more chorizo than I dare dream about. We then cooked the blood with onion and added cooked rice and pine nuts to make morcilla, or blood sausage/blood pudding. Yum yum! Once I got over the initial queasiness of seeing a slaughtered pig on the floor with various parts lying about, the sausage making was actually quite fun!
What did make me a bit queasy was one of the dishes my mother-in-law prepared. All I saw her do was scramble some eggs... I did not notice the ingredients that she threw in at the last moment. When we sat down to eat, she asked me if I wanted some “huevos con sesos”. I didn´t know the word sesos but, so what, I´m adventurous! When she served me the eggs, I asked her where the sesos were.. she said they were already mixed in. Still not knowing I took a mouthful and then caught everyone looking at me expectantly! Of course, Ángel had to be the one to rain on the parade and oh-so-lovingly explained that sesos was another word for materia gris or cerebro or, in English... BRAINS! I felt my stomach turn literally in knots and couldn´t take another bite! The other lovely dish that she prepared were pig jowls in tomato sauce. It actually wasn´t that bad... it was just the thought that made me a little nauseous.
Life Goes On
Life goes on... I´m enjoying contact with lots of interesting people and am anxiously awaiting Semana Santa (Holy Week)since Ángel has promised to take me camping in the mountains of central northwestern Spain. That will be fun! Please keep me up to date with what is going on in your lives! I love getting emails about the babies, the marriages, new connections, old friendships. So do stay in touch... and if you are ever thinking of heading our way...don´t hesitate to look us up! Even if it´s only to meet for cerveza and tapas! We´d love to see you!
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