Take the fork in the road to adventure

Day 1:

Adventure is worthwhile. –Amelia Earhart

I could only laugh to myself at the perfect irony of finding this message at the top of the first page of my travel journal. I was sitting in a hot, stuffy, overcrowded terminal of Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris after having just missed my connection to Madrid and wrangled a replacement flight from snooty airline ticket counter agents (no Ma’am, it’s not my fault we were kept on the aircraft at the gate for 1.5 hours after the flight landed). I had been travelling for close to 15 hours straight, was without internet or a working phone, and was in the process of moving to a new city to begin new internship. Oh yeah. On top of this, I had absolutely no idea of where I was going to live when I got there. If you had asked me in that very moment, I would have definitively defied Ms. Earhart and told you that no, adventure is NOT worthwhile. I didn’t want to go to Spain; I really just wanted to go to bed. Written in my journal for that day is; “Ask me in a month and I’ll let you know if I agree with Amelia.”

Day 2:

When you come to a fork in the road, take it. –Yogi Berra

How does this journal know my life?? After (finally) arriving in Madrid I was faced with a major fork in my road: where to live. Decisions, decisions. Do I prioritize comfort and take the modern, recently re-done bedroom in the place that has everything except a social atmosphere? Do I try and save money and take the cheap place with the small bedroom that overlooks the ugly interior patio? Do I jump at the potential opportunity to make Spanish friends and move in with Pablo, Pablo, and Sergio? As I struggled to make a decision I tried to write down the main advantages and disadvantages of each. On one hand, I could have an incredibly spacious, beautiful room all to myself. On the other hand, I could save a good chunk of money that would go towards paying back the ever-looming student loans. On the other (third?) hand, I wanted these few months in Spain to be the best possible. I want to make the most of my time here, which for me means getting to know people around here, forming relationships, practicing my Spanish daily, and integrating myself into la vida Madrilena as best as possible. Therefore, in the end my choice was clear. Pablo, Pablo, and Sergio; get ready to add an enthusiastic chica Americana to the mix. I hope Yogi Berra would be proud to know that I grabbed that fork in the road and ran with it, not looking back once.

Three weeks later…

So is adventure worthwhile? Did I make the right decision with the fork in my road? Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few thousand clues as to my answer:
 

I love this view from atop a rooftop terraza. Perfect place to tomar un café and take in the enormity of Madrid.
 

This is the fountain in the middle of beautiful flower gardens in the Parque Buen Retiro.

Fruterias, or fruit markets, are one of the simple pleasures that I miss when I’m not in Spain. Here I bought a bag of delicious cherries for all of 0.50 cents. Yum!

 
I am such a sucker for Spanish food. This delicious meal consisted of: paella, green peppers, croquettes, fried squid, and potatoes with spicy sauce and ali-oli.

 

I wish I could take credit for these two photos… but although I didn’t take the shots myself, they represent my newest favorite pastime: riding around Madrid en bici. My roommate Pablo encouraged me to go for a ride with him, and now it’s the only way I want to get around the city, ever! The Royal Palace has a certain extra appeal when zipping by it on a bike, acting as if I were a true European. Above is the Royal Palace and below is the Puerta de Alcala, a monument in Madrid’s Plaza de Independencia, both of which I’ve biked past. Nothing like experiencing Madrid with the wind whipping through your hair!
 

 
Those above pictures are only small snapshots of the great experiences I’ve already had in Madrid. I love my apartment, my roommates are fantastic, and I’m falling in love with this city. These three weeks in Madrid have already been memorable (And I didn’t even talk about my internship- that will be the next blog post). The take-away here is this essentially this: sometimes the most rewarding experiences are the most intimidating. It can be terrifying to jump out of your comfort zone, move to a new city, and begin a new internship or job. However, taking that plunge will give you more experiences, memories, skills, and friends that you can even imagine. While it may be tough at first, don’t discourage.

Adventure is worthwhile.

Take that fork in the road.

Glimpses of Galicia

Its been almost 6 months since I've moved to Vigo, Galicia and while there have been ups and downs, I can definitely say that I've been enjoying myself. Yes, the weather is cold and rainy, but despite the rain there are bright spots in my life that are making this year as unforgettable as I had hoped that it would be. Here are some glimpses of what brightens up my new life in Galicia:

Churches

The famous Catedral de Santiago de Compostela is the cathedral of St James and is the end of the road for the worldwide known pilgrimage called the camino de Santiago. Thousands and thousand of travelers from all around the world make the trek starting from various points of Spain, France, or Portugal and all end up at that very spot where the picture was taken. Its powerful to stand there and think about what the pilgrimage meant historically for those who did it for religious reasons, and what it means today for those who do it for as sorts of reasons, ranging from religious, sport, fun, historical interest, self discovery, and more.

Santiago de Compostela

However I'm a bit biased to the church in this second photo: the church that is outside my school, separated only by a few small cornfields (my school is in the countryside outside of Vigo city). I took this photo while waiting at the bus stop after school one day. One of my favorite things about this church is the melody that the bells play every day at the same time while I'm waiting for the bus. Its so beautiful to listen to, and always relaxes me, takes my mind off of the things I have to do that afternoon, and makes me enjoy a few minutes of country life.

Cornfields and church bells

Seafood cooking adventures

Moving to Galicia, I had heard that they are really big on the seafood. I decided to go in head first with the whole seafood concept, and what better way than to have some seafood cooking adventures?! Some of my most interesting endeavors have been: Octopus, clams, and crabs. All new but delicious experiences!

Our pulpo (we named him Jorge) before cooking

Jorge after being boiled for 30 minutes

Final product: Pulpo a la feira- YUM! 

Clams cooking in the pot

Final product: Almejas a la marinera 

Crabs: before

Centolla de la Ria de Pontevedra

Views

I've always been a sucker for a good view, especially if there is water involved. Vigo is right on the water inlet that runs in from the ocean and is home to one of the more significant ports in the area. Because of being on the water inlet, at any given point in Vigo, if you are at a high enough altitude, there is a fantastic view of water. On top of that, because of the hilliness of the town, its easy to get that awesome rooftop view.

View from a friend's apartment

View from my apartment

New Friends

No new location would be complete without a new set of friends! I've had luck in stumbling across a great group of multicultural friends from all different aspects of my life here in Vigo; roommates, fellow English teachers, and random encounters. At social gatherings any combination of Americans, Brits, Peruvians, and Spaniards are all likely to be present, always making for fun and interesting times.

Americans' night out

My special Spanish friend Iria

Day trip to Pontevedra

International Thanksgiving party: everyone has a reason to be thankful

Tapas tapas tapas

The longer I am in Spain, the more I feel like I am constantly falling in love with Spanish food over and over. Whether its a classic dish like tortilla de patatas or a new experience for me like the Galician delicacy pulpo a feira (octopus), I am loving every moment and every bite and trying to take advantage or every opportunity to experience more.  For example, the concurso del tapa de Vigo:

For the past couple weeks, there has been a tapa competition between many of the restaurants in Vigo. What this means is that all the restaurants who are participating prepare one special tapa del concurso which they serve customers who come to participate in the competition. There are brochures that provide a list of all the locations and tapa served at each place: too bad all the names of the tapas were in Gallego (official dialect of Galicia), so we frequently had no idea whatsoever of what we were about to eat!

The tapas were all sold at 1.50 euros, making affordable to try a lot of them without breaking the budget. I wish I had more time to try them all, but I did manage to get about halfway through the list (not all in one night)- here are some photos to prove it.

Guiris out for some tapas

Beef and gravy with melted cheese at the bottom

Mini Spanish omlette

"Hamburger" that was a chick pea patty with tomato bun

Octopus in a biscuit

Calzone with ham, cheese, and a mushroom creme sauce

Chocolate mousse and sweet cream cheese with cafe liquor

Mexican toast

Shish kebob with chicken, shrimp, and veggies on a toast

Cheese with a sardine on top and small bowl of gazpacho

A large shrimp with a strange seafood bread roll

Fried dough filled with chicken and corn, with ali-oli to dip in

Toasted bread topped with goat cheese, caramelized onions, and ham

Toasted bread topped with carrot sauce and cheese

Mini pizza with goat cheese and walnuts 

Best way to enjoy the tapas, with a vino or cerveza

I can honestly say that while I had a few favorites (goat cheese with caramelized onions! Shrimp shish-ka-bob!) there weren't any that I DIDN'T like. It was an overall fun experience with friends and food. 

New places, new adventures

This is a difficult post for me to write, because ever since I first decided I wanted to come to Spain, I dreamt of being in Andalucia. I was blessed to get an auxiliar job in Cadiz, Andalucia, and two amazing years later, I still love it as much as I knew I would. Whats not to love about beautiful southern Spain? The dancing, the beaches, the sun, the ferias, the pueblos blancos, the fiestas, the cervecitas, laid back attitude, the list could go on and on.

What's not to love?

Despite my guiri (foreign) accent, I can honestly say I was beginning to feel comfortable and at home in charming, seaside Cadiz- I was becoming Amerigaditana, if you will. I was foreign, but I fit in. I know the customs, I like the food, I've learned the slang, I'm a diehard fan of the local futbol team. Even the name of my blog comes from a local saying that expresses a strong pride of being gaditano (from Cadiz) -- and I probably won't change it!

Sorry dude, not everyone can be from Cadiz! 

When I first learned that I was placed in Vigo, Galicia, (Northern Spain, near the border of Portugal) for the 2013-2014 school year, I was devastated. Move away from my beloved Cadiz? No way, not happening! I can't leave the place that I've grown to know and love, where I've spent the past 2 years making friends, gathering clients,

and making my home. However, due to my lack of control over Spanish bureaucracy I am left with little choice- my job is in Galicia, I'm going to Galicia. Once I came to grips with this reality, all the little positive aspects of the move started making their way into my subconscious... This is going to be an entirely new adventure! I will do things, see things, and experience things that I never would have done/seen/experienced otherwise. I fell in love with Cadiz (and Andalucia), who is to say that I won't fall equally in love with an entirely new city, province, and culture?


To prepare myself, I've made a (albeit short) list of what I know about the province of Galicia:

-It is very cold and rainy:

New raincoat already in the budget

-They eat a LOT of seafood:

Galician logic is that if it swims, you eat it

-They speak weird Spanish:

This is a map showing the breakdown of the different dialects that Spain has.

I'm sure I'll have a lot more to add to the list very shortly... Because for better or for worse, full of excitement and dread, I'm saying "Hasta luego, Andalucia" and "See you soon, Galicia!" Keep reading for more updates.  :)

Sangria Secrets

Maybe you have travelled to Spain and found that restaurant/bar that makes the PERFECT sangria, or maybe you have that great authentic restaurant in your town where you get the best sangria EVER. Well, I hate to be one of those Been-there-done-that know it all type of people, but I'd have to tell you that you are wrong on that account. The best and most authentic sangria is always the homemade sangria. You don't believe me? Ask a Spaniard. They'll sit there with their cerveza or tinto de verano and tell you that 9 times out of 10 the guiris, or foreigners, are the only people drinking sangria in the bars. Also, the key to sangria is outside of fruit and wine there are no hard and fast rules, and each recipe is different and probably equally delicious. So, here is my recipe: feel free to read it, follow it, or change it- but it has always only ever gotten me only positive feedback! 

Gather the ingredients:

-Two liters Sprite. Or your preferred type of light soda; 7-up, etc. Tonic water would probably even be good. Chilled. 

-One bottle cheap red wine. I wouldn't bother too much worrying about the quality of the wine- you will be mixing it with stuff so it doesn't really matter.

-One cup brandy. I also frequently use whiskey, which seems to taste about the same to me... however, since Spain produces a lot of brandy, I was told that its more "authentic" to use brandy instead of whiskey.

-Fruit. My favorite fruits to use are: 2-3 apples, 2-3 oranges, 1 can peaches in their juice, and 2-3 lemons. I've also used grapefruits and pears, and I've heard of people using grapes, strawberries or bananas. You can go with your preferences. 

-Cinnamon and sugar. To taste.

-Fruity liquor (OPTIONAL). I've put small amounts of triple sec in mine, which was good. I've heard of people using melon or another fruity liqueur, but this is definitely the least necessary ingredient. 

The fruit is gathered...

Cut the fruit:
I dice most of the fruit into small cubes (after peeling it). Its also fun to leave the lemons and a few oranges in round slices, because it looks cool...

The fruit is cut...

Soak the fruit:

Layer the fruit in a container (pitcher, tupperware, etc) with cinnamon and sugar then add the brandy [or chosen alcohols] to the container. I typically add 1.5 to 2 cups, which turns out to be roughly enough to cover all the fruit. Cover with foil and leave to sit in the refrigerator overnight. 

The fruit is soaking...

Combine Ingredients:
I usually use a big punch bowl. Start with the fruit/alcohol mixture, adding it to the punch bowl followed by the wine and lastly the sprite. You can add sprite and wine in different amounts depending on your preferred taste, but I usually have about 1 part wine to 2 parts sprite. Add ice either to the sangria or put it straight in the glasses.

In the punch bowl ready to serve

Enjoy!