Spain vs. the U.S. (Spain wins by the way.)

Just some thoughts I was having about what I'll miss when I leave versus what I'm looking forward to living with for the next 9 months.

Los Estados Unidos

1. I don't know how I'll be able to go for 9 months without real milk. I just don't think that milk should come in cartons that are left outside on the porch for god knows how long. Milk is meant to be refrigerated. Seriously.

2. I'll miss driving in my car with the windows down and the radio blasting and being able to sing at the top of my lungs without feeling weird.

That was the first thing I did when I got back home after a semester in Spain. Humming quietly while you walk down the streets just isn't the same.

Granted, some people don't care and will belt it out anyway, but that's not really my style.

3. I'll miss my boyfriend. Yeah yeah yeah, I know, this is a given. But I'm so used to seeing him everyday, being able to call him or text him whenever I want. It will be weird to have to plan out times that we can talk.

4. I'll miss my friends&family. A couple of weeks ago I would have said I'd be fine living on another continent without seeing my family for a year (I know that sounds harsh, but that's what college did to me...) but now that I've been living at home on and off, I'm starting to get reattached...
And as for my friends (New Glarus, Monti, La Crosse, Anoka, everyone) I can't even imagine a year without seeing any of them! 

5. I'll definitely miss the dollar. When I see a t-shirt that costs $10 I might think twice about buying it, but if I see the same shirt for 8E or 9E, I'll tend to think that it's a steal cause it's under $10 and I'll buy it. (Obviously forgetting that now it's actually $11-$12). Not that that's such a big difference, but it does add up.

6. PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES! I can't be the only person whose about to going to be upset when late November rolls around and there's no place to buy pumpkin spice lattes. Maybe I'm wrong and these are offered in Spain as well, in which case I will be ecstatic!! I've worked at Culvers for the last 4 years and Thanksgiving has by far been my favorite time of the year, solely because of the pumpkin spice shakes and concretes.

[Update. Thankfully these glorious beverages made their appearance about a week ago, so I've been buying them every opportunity I can. Count so far = 1 frappuccino, 3 lattes, 1 shake.]

7. Culvers. I may be slightly addicted to this restaurant chain, seeing how I've worked there for several years and I'm still not sick of eating their food. When I eat a hamburger in Spain (which I just learned is usually made with veal or a mixture of beef and pork) I will fondly remember the deliciousness that is a Culvers ButterBurger. 

These are all kind of trivial things though, I suppose.

Here's what I'm looking forward to about España.

1. First off, It's not the U.S.! I'll be living and working in a foreign country thousands of miles away from my home, by myself, without knowing anyone. This is the experience of a life time.

2. Tinto de verano. This is definitely my favorite drink that I had in Spain.

I normally dislike wine. I wished I liked it cause I like the heady feeling I get after drinking a glass or two, but every sip feels like I'm choking down nail polish remover. Ew.

But tinto, ahhhhh. It's pure deliciousness. My first stop once I reach Algeciras will be to stop at a bar and get a glass.

3. Siestas! How great is it that nap time for adults is encouraged? I took lots of naps in college but it wasn't quite the same. I woke up feeling groggy and annoyed because I had fallen asleep on top of the book I was supposed to be reading for biology. Or I would set my alarm for a 20 minute nap and then push s.n.o.o.z.e. for the next 2 hours, which still resulted in me being groggy and annoyed and behind on my homework.

But now, I'll have a 2-3 hour time frame to nap away without feeling guilty!

4. The ease of t.r.a.v.e.l.i.n.g. around Europa. That sums that up.

5. The relaxed pace of life. I was in Spain for 4 months last time and I still never really got used to how slowwwwww people walk. It's not just when they walk, they take their time everywhere. And that's something that a lot of us Americans aren't used to.

I'm excited to have a reason to leave early on my way to work just so I can enjoy the scenery, and to stop and enjoy a coffee at an outdoor café just because I can.


6. Las rebajas. That's 'sales' for all you monolingual people. Europe has two terrific clothing sales throughout the year, one in the summer and one in the winter. Amsterdam apparently advertises 70% off in many of its stores over the winter rebajas!

Pensamientos sobre la Comida (Thoughts about food)

Hola! (4 years later and I still haven't figured out how to make the upside down exclamation point on a Mac. Anybody know how?)

I had my graduation party last weekend and when my dad said he wanted to make Spanish food instead of just grilling hamburgers, I was a little umm....hesitant.
In my opinion, Spain is not known for their food. When trying to decide what I want to eat for dinner I've never said "Spanish food sounds really good." Nope. You will probably never hear me say that. In comparison, Chinese food I'm always up for, Mexican food is delish, and Japanese sushi is a guilty pleasure. But Spanish food? No thanks.

I mean, there are the exceptions. Paella is one of my favorite dishes ever, and tortilla española is aaaa-mazing.
But-- the jámon (ham), the lack of spices, and the beef-less hamburgers I could definitely do without. (I just learned the their hamburgers usually come from veal or a combination of beef and pork....this would explain why they never taste very good.)
Oh yeah, and the way they won't put cheese on a pizza unless you specifically ask for it. And even when you ask for it, they use a weird type of cheese. And their ability to hide ham in just about everything, including potato chips and spaghetti ("is there meat in the spaghetti?" "oh no, just ham." True story).

It took me a solid month last time I was there to get used to the food (and by "get used to" I mean not analyze what I was eating before I ate it). I still have issues with seafood, ham, and chorizo. Which anybody who has been to Spain before realizes is a major problem, since those are Spain's staple foods. Oops.

Wish me better luck this time!

mmmmm...paella con carne

Ew.

They sell cans or bottles of tinto at the grocery stores, and a lot of bars will just use these for their tinto during busy times. Still good, but a little bit sweeter than the home-made version.

Soo...

I'm bored, and procrastinating getting ready for work. Mornings like this make me so excited for the 12 hours/week max I'll be working for the next year. Ug. I am so not a morning person.

Anyway, here are some random facts about the city I will be calling home in a few weeks:

Algeciras does not serve free tapas........ :( 

--Granada, the city I studied abroad in last year, is one of the only (is it the only?) cities in Spain that serves free tapas. I believe there is a bar in Madrid that serves them as well, but if you have to ask where it is it then you're probably not supposed to be there.)--


Algeciras is considered mainly a jump off point to other locations, like Morocco, the Canary Islands, Tarifa, etc.  I have yet to read a blog entry of someone who visited Algeciras for the sake of visiting Algeciras.

The average temperature during the summer is 75 - 83 degrees, and during the winter it stays in the 50's. Now that is a winter I can deal with!!

--Sidenote. 2 years ago I arrived in Spain in January and it snowed in Madrid while we were there for orientation, and then when we took a group trip to Rome for Valentine's day, it decided to snow for the first time in 20 years. So although it says that Algeciras has mild winters, I won't believe it till I see it.
Especially given the freak temperatures we've been seeing around here lately.

There is a college located nearby the school were I'll be teaching, so *cross your fingers* that this means I'll be able to find students or international travelers to live with.

Aaaand gotta go to work.

Ciao!

Anyyyybody else....?

Now that it's getting closer to the time to leave and now that it's starting to sink in that this is happening, I'm getting wayyy more nervous! For the last 9 months I've been casually telling people that I'll be living and working in Spain next year. I could go through the whole schpiel (is that how you spell it?) about where I'll be living, where I'll be working, yes I'm excited, yes I'll miss my boyfriend but no we're not going to break up, and no I'm hardly fluent in Spanish. It's amazing how many people have decided that I must be fluent in Spanish because it's my major.
Haha....it was a losing argument. Lately I've just been nodding and smiling and agreeing that after 8 years of spanish, I am completely fluent. Lies.

Anyway, I've also been keeping a closer eye on the facebook groups for the program. There are specialized groups now for each region, and sometimes for a specific town. I asked on the main page a while ago if anybody else was placed near Algeciras, but so far I haven't heard back.

There are separate groups for Sevilla, Granada and Cádiz, and I've seen some posts about 5 or 6 people teaching in the same tiny town. But I haven't heard anything about Algeciras. For a town of 115,000 there must at least one more auxiliar, right?