"The belly rules the mind" -Spanish Proverb

I've been promising my Mom all summer that I would make a "typical Spanish dinner" and last weekend I finally found time to make it happen. It was somewhat difficult to decide what to prepare, but in the end I went with foods that meant something to me based on my personal experiences and memories. I drove across town looking for the perfect kind of cheese, chorizo, and olives with varying degrees of success (was so excited to find manchego cheese), gathered all my supplies, recruited a loyal assistant, and set out to thoroughly dirty the kitchen and hope for the best. The results are as follows (recipes at the end of the post): 

Part 1: Oh, The tortilla Española! Much could be said about this quintessential delicacy of spanish cuisine that consists of egg, potato, and onion. I've had it at parties, in restaurants, as a meal, as a snack, as filling in a sandwich, and dolled up with meat and veggies. Although I've had the tortilla in many different situations and locations, the most delectable tortilla in my opinion is the homemade tortilla prepared by the Spanish woman (in my case, Danis mom). That's why, when I think of tortilla, I think of family: sitting down to a casual family dinner at the kitchen table [at 11pm, which I'm STILL not used to] and waiting for the homemade fresh omelette-like food to be served. As always, it's been cooked to perfection in taste and size. What strikes me the most is that while this might be considered a delicacy to me, to a Spaniard its just the opposite- a food to be enjoyed in the most everyday circumstances surrounded by casual talk of politics, work, and -if I'm around- the ever present inquires about American culture. 

Sadly, my homemade tortilla wasn't nearly as delicious.

As you can see, it is frumpy, slightly burned and the inside wasn't moist like it should be (the key is in the frying temperature...?). But at least it too was enjoyed in the company of family- for the first time, my American family instead of my Spanish family.

Crowder family dinner, Spanish style

Part 2: Whether its snails, spicy potatoes, fried octopus, fish, cheese (manchego, brie, roquefort...) there are countless foods that I could discuss in relation to some of my favorite tapas bars. However, the food itself is not the only thing that is unique about the Spanish tapas bar- it's all about the atmosphere. It may seem weird to see dried pig legs hanging from the roof, some may be perturbed when there is no open seating and they are expected to eat standing up, and not everyone will like receiving such small portions...However, all of these characteristics help make the tapas bar and eating out experience what they are. 

At Las Cumbres, one of our favorite places in Cadiz (note the
ham hanging in the background)

Despite all the tasty food I mentioned, I have special memories of eating meatballs on the last night I went out in Cadiz, and they are one of the simplest favorites. When I found a good-looking recipe online, that sealed the deal: so I decided to prepare albondigas en salsa de almendra (meatballs in almond sauce). A meatball might not sound all that special, but it wasn't until i tried meatballs at a popular gaditano tapas bar did i truly appreciate their culinary possibilities. Luckily, I would say that the recipe I found did them justice. These were not your typical spaghetti-and-meatball type of meatballs:

They turned out delicious, with the almonds giving them a nutty sweet sauce and the white bread giving the meat a nice moist texture- I would even go as far to say that they were almost as good as their inspiration:

Eating at the bar, Las Cumbres

Overall, I would say that the dinner turned out pretty well! It was fun to share a bit of the Spanish culture with my family, and even more entertaining is the challenge of explaining what a "tapa" even is. "How does this tapa thing work.... ? ...Is it an appetizer...? ..Whats the difference between a tapa and an appetizer...?" ........ You get the picture.

 Here are more photos of my dinner:

Pimientos rellenos con arroz y salsa de tomate
(red peppers filled with rice and tomato sauce) 

Salchichon, queso manchego, aceitunas, "picos"

Of course, tinto de verano: red wine mixed with fanta. Yum!

I wish I could say that I used were secret recipes from an authentic Spanish restaurant but... the internet is a wonderful substitute sometimes. So here are the recipes that I used:


Spanish Tortilla

Meatballs in Almond Sauce

Stuffed Bell Peppers

International Love

Finally the answer to the big question that all my well-wishers want to know; "Did you meet anyone special while you were in Spain?"

Well, you are about to have the inside scoop. I had the privilege of being featured by another (more talented) blogger in her section called "So you're dating a Spaniard?" so I will refer you to her website.

You can click over there, in the blogs I follow ---------------------------------->  -------^

Or to make it easy on yourself, just follow this link!

http://ymuchomas.com/2012/08/07/so-youre-dating-a-spaniard-leah/

My favorite Spaniard and me! 

Summertime and thoughts on the language barrier

Summertime favorites: sangria, sun, and swimming

I'm in the midst of my summer vacation in Albuquerque, and I decided to write about something that has been on my mind quite a bit this summer: the language barrier. Probably the most common question I've been asked after coming back is, "So are you fluent in Spanish now?"  This is actually a very difficult question for me to answer. In my opinion, first you have to define what it means to be "fluent" in a language. To help me out, I looked it up in a very reliable source: wikipedia.

"Language fluency is used informally to denote broadly a high level of language proficiency, most typically foreign language or another learned language, and more narrowly to denote fluid language use, as opposed to slow, halting use. .... Native [or bilingual] language speakers are often incorrectly referred to as fluent."

Learn Spanish: check

By this definition, yes I would definitly say I am a fluent Spanish speaker: I can speak fluidly, I can converse natually with a friend, I can say basically anything I want (granted the wording might be awkward), and I have good comprehension. So, Yay! Check that one off the bucket list!  

 HOWEVER, before you get too excited, let's talk about what "fluency" means in day-to-day life:
Do I still feel a bit lost in group conversations? definitely
Am I always the last person to understand the joke? every time
Is it difficult to communicate on a deeper level? unfortunately sometimes yes
Do I get weird looks from the supermarket ladies when I ask where a product is? yep (haha)

How do you say, "Speak slower please!"

The reason I think about this topic so often is because being back in the states I am constantly struck by all of a sudden HOW EASY it is to be social when there is no language barrier! I never truely appreciated the simplicity of communication until I jumped into a world where communication for me typically involved a high level of concentration and occasional what I like to call "sentence pre-planning". Its also strange because I feel less like the social butterfly that I am at big gatherings, and I see myself becoming more of the wallflower- a change I don't like. I have to make an intentional effort to show my true personality as I become more experienced, comfortable, and confident speaking the language. (Meanwhile explaining to people that I am just sitting around and smiling like a weirdo because my brain is too tired for conversation) I think what people fail to realize is that the gap between "fluency" and "bilingual" is a very fluid gap (pardon the pun...). For example, one moment you might feel great about your ability, the next day your confidence will be shattered by a confusing conversation. (These moments are always followed by self questioning, "Will I EVER sound smarter than a Spanish 5th grader?")

So, I guess the long answer to the question, "Are you fluent?"  would be, "Yes- but I still have a very long road ahead of me."

Weekend trip to Ronda

I few weeks ago we had a 4 day weekend due to a national holiday in Spain, so I decided to take advantage of my time off and see something new. I didn’t want to do anything big and complicated, so I decided to go to a little Spanish pueblo that I had heard so much about from friends: Ronda. Literally the only things I knew about the town was that it is part of Andalucia’s ‘Pueblos Blancos’, and that it has a famous bridge…and that I found a cheap hotel (breakfast included!) online, so I was Ronda-bound! I arrived on a Sunday afternoon –in the rain-, found my hotel as quickly as possible, warmed up, and did some sightseeing. That night I ate a cheap dinner, then spent the whole next day seeing as much as possible before heading back on the last bus of the day.

...wow...

That is the basic outline of the trip, but how do I describe the actual experience? Ronda was breathtaking, absolutely gorgeous, full of history and culture, and despite the rain and being alone I would say its been one of my favorite little trips in Spain. First of all, the famous bridge that I had heard so much about. What I didn’t expect was to round a corner and have my jaw drop to the ground and find myself speechless for about 5 minutes. I couldn’t do anything besides stare and admire. Finally I did manage to take some pictures- about a million or so. Not only is this bridge beautiful –it is made of stone and has nice artistic ridges- but the sheer size of it is breathtaking. It literally connects a city that is divided in two by a gigantic river gorge. Imagine a bridge over a theoretical very narrow part of the Grand Canyon, and that’s a little bit how I felt this was.

Arab baths

The little town itself is full of things to see- everywhere you look in the old center of town you can see remnants of the old Muslim culture, which was replaced but not completely destroyed by the Christians takeover during the Spanish Inquisition. I was able to see the old Arabic Baths that used to be at the old town entrance, where people could cleanse themselves before entering the city. Of course I saw the old Mosque, which was converted into a Christian School but still has some of the Arab looking architecture. I wandered through the Anadulcian style ‘pueblo blanco’ which consists of narrow streets with white buildings on either side that have balconies full of typical red or other brightly colored flowers, and I visited the Plaza de España which Ernest Hemingway writes about in his book ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’. (If you’ve read the book, yes it is the part where people are forced to walk off the cliff- the cliff being where the bridge now is).

Typical Andalusian street

I enjoyed the trip immensely, because the town itself was so enjoyable. However, I came up with a list of the pros and cons of travelling alone, from my point of view.

Pros: you have independence to make your own decisions, go where you want to go when you want to go there, eat where you want, basically plan the entire trip without having to take into account the needs of others. Sometimes even more important; you can give in to any annoying or selfish habits you might have that must be restrained in the prescence of others- in my case, taking a 40 minute shower and using up the hot water supply for the room. Oops. But, nobody was there waiting for the bathroom or complaining about hot water!

Cons: In the end, I decided that the cons of travelling alone outweigh the pros. Having company and sharing the experience with somebody you like makes the experience of seeing new things so much richer and more enjoyable. Whether it is seeing things from another person’s point of view, sharing your point of view with them, or simply discussing the experience, I believe that its better in company. The entire trip I had thoughts along the lines of, “Oh! That is so cool, my mom would really love to be here too!” or “I wish my roommates could see this!” or “I just want to discuss with somebody how beautiful this view is.”

However, I felt proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and arranging, planning, and executing a trip alone. It can be an intimidating thing, especially in a foreign country (anybody seen the movie Hostel?), and to a new place. Overall, while I realized that travelling alone is not my particular style, I confirmed with myself that I am capable to do it and enjoy it- and for that I am glad that I went alone. 

Huelgamania

Now, I will admittedly say that I am not the expert when it comes to things like strikes, labor unions etc. (Ironically I was forced to present a lesson on 'Labor unions in the United States', which was followed by a Q and A of how labor unions work. Side note- the common misconception seems to be that because I know English, I should be a fountain of knowledge on about any topic- as long as the conversation is in English.) So anyway, these are just my personal thoughts and observations about the strike of March 29 (29M).

I had never personally seen or been affected by a strike until I came to Spain- here, I swear they happen at least once a month. Spain is infected with what one friend likes to call “huelgamania” (Strike-mania). Usually I really only know that a strike is happening because I get the day off school or I have to wait extra long for the bus to come. However, this one was much different.

First of all, about 4 months ago, a new and more conservative government was put into place. Recently, this government passed new labor laws that the people are not happy with. I don’t know all the details, but one of the main changes that upset people is that now bosses have the ability to easily hire and fire people at will, without providing a good reason. A worker can be fired missing too many days of work for health reasons- regardless of whether they have had something serious like a heart attack or are struggling with a difficult pregnancy. Also, there were some budget cuts that people were not happy with.

Poster advertising a general strike for March 29

Therefore, BOTH of the 2 main labor unions in Spain decided to call for a general strike to protest. They call this strike the strike for the 99 percent- the 99 percent are composed of the working man and woman, with the 1 percent being the government officials and politicians. Everyone who has a job or has worked in the past was called to participate in the strike. 

The effects of this particular strike were extremely wide-spread. Transportation was a huge mess. All public transport was put on minimum service, so when there are typically 20 or so trains that go between El Puerto and Cadiz, on 29M there were only 5. Therefore, I had to catch a train one and a half hours early to work. When I arrived with time to kill I decided to walk around town for a bit, but the town was completely deserted- it looked like a ghost town (but a ghost town covered in trash, seeing as how the garbage men also decided to strike.)

I think that Cadiz felt the least of the strike. I spoke to a friend in Madrid who said that people there had gone crazy. There was graffiti all over the place, the ATMs had been vandalized, and there was just general madness.

Even the children accept it without wonder or question. When discussing one of the absent children one of my classes, one of the little girls just shrugged her shoulders and said, “Bueno. La Huelga.” As if it is the most normal thing in the world for a 6 year old to be able to “go on strike” from his English lessons… Of course; I understand her point. The strike disrupted the lives of almost everyone in one was or another.  

I have to wonder about the effectiveness of all these strikes. The people I talked to didn't seem to have much hopefulness that any changes would be made. I suppose sometimes people simply need a way to be able to express themselves. But, after seeing all of the negative aftereffects -trash in the streets, protesting mobs, graffiti, money spent on flyers, posters, and stickers, and not to mention the economic disruption of a normal working day- I have to question if it is worth it or not. Is this really the right way to "fight" for your rights? 

Warning: beach lovers ONLY

I have been loving life now that the weather is FINALLY warming up- its warm enough to enjoy some beach time, but not warm enough to wear a bikini, so I’m out there in my long pants and cardigan. The best part has been exploring new beaches, which I have been doing every weekend. 

Costa de la Luz

The Costa de la Luz is the coast that I live on and it extends from Tarifa, the southern most city in Spain, up past Cadiz and into the province of Huelva. (This is not to be confused with the Costa del Sol, which is the coast that goes the other direction from Tarifa.) The Costa de la Luz is slightly less touristy than the Costa del Sol, but is still very popular for water sports like kitesurfing, boating, surfing, and also contains natural parks that are good for camping and hiking. It has very diverse terrain, with mountainous forests suddenly becoming beaches, all right next door to a deserty, sandy area covered in weeds- also next door to another beach… Basically, whichever type of terrain you prefer, you can find it in Cadiz- and best of all, you can find it next to a beach. I will run through a few of the beaches that I have enjoyed in the Costa de la Luz so far..

Playa Victoria

Playa Victoria, Cadiz. Of course, I have to start with the beach I live on. I live on Playa Victoria, which is one of the best sections in Cadiz. It is a long stretch of beach in the wealthier part of town that is completely packed during the summery and touristy months. I say ‘summer’ very loosely, because up until the end of December people (including me) were out there enjoying the sun. The street that runs along the beach is full of cafés, restaurants, and pubs that become completely filled with well-dressed people when even the least bit of sun is out. My favorite day on my street is a sunny Sunday afternoon when all the people come out to eat in the outside patios and take walks by the beach (with their equally well dressed kids- the ones I mentioned in an earlier blog post).

The ferry I took to from Tarifa to Tangier

Tarifa. The southern most city of Spain is known as the kite- surfing capital of the world, and with good reason: it is one of the windiest places I have ever experienced. I haven’t spent time on the beach of Tarifa, but I went through through the city to catch the ferry to Tangeir, Morocco. I hear the beach is amazing, and hopefully one day I will have a story to tell about kite-surfing.

Caños de Meca- look closely to see the surfers

Los Caños de Meca, Conil. This is know for being the “hippie” beach, but after being there I would describe it as the “hippie-surfer” beach… or to clarify even further, the “hippie-surfer-nudist” beach. I love the feel of the area, which is not quite deserted but also not quite touristy. There are surrounding little towns that are slightly run- down and mostly consist of places to rent surfboards and wooden shacks to have a drink or something to eat, with a few cheap but pleasant looking hotels nearby. There is only one way to the beach: to actually reach the sand you have to climb down ancient looking rock steps and pass through a stone structure that seems like it was there since before time. To fit in well here requires one of the following: dreadlocks, wetsuits, or your birthday suit. Like I said, think hippie-surfer-nudist.  

La Cala del Aceite, near Chiclana. I have saved the best for last! La Cala del Aceite felt to me like more of a virgin beach than the others, because there are literally no buildings or parking lots within miles. It is surrounded by a cliff and red rocks that jut out from the cliff which you can sit in and around. If you sit in just the right spot, it is easy to imagine being alone on a deserted island. This is what I loved so much about this beach- the feeling of being completely secluded yet surrounded by such beauty. This one deserves two pictures:

La Cala del Aceite view from ocean

La Cala del Aceite view from rocks

Sancti Petri. This beach reminds me most of all of the South Carolina beaches because there are small sand dunes that have small palms and grasses growing on them, and the sand is very white. The unique feature here is the close up view of a castle in the middle of the ocean! There was a castle built on a piece of land that has since been surrounded by water, and all that remains is the castle smack dab in the ocean. I think during tourist season they take people out to visit the castle in boats. 

Sancti Petri Beach with castle in the background

Morocco

Morocco

This was my first venture into Africa, my first experience in a Muslim country, and the first time travelling that I felt significantly out of my comfort zone: more than the typical I’m-lost-and-don’t-speak-the-language type of experience.

However, to begin, a little sightseeing in Marrakesh:

In the courtyard of the palace that separates
the rooms of the 4 official wives

Palace of the Grand Vizir. This is where the Grand Vizir of old days lived with his staff and family, including his 4 official wives and many concubines. One of the most interesting sections of the palace was the royal disco, where the Grand Vizir would host private parties with drinking, dancing, and women. In these parties, the only seeing men were the Vizir and his personal friends. The rest, even the musicians, were blind men trained from birth to serve the king- this was so that they couldn’t witness the goings on that occurred with the women.

Biggest Mosque in Marrakesh

The biggest Mosque in Marrakesh. Apart from being a place of worship, the mosque functions as a center of education and a place where spiritually lost people can come to seek guidance. The three windows on the tower represent what they consider the three most important prophets in history- Abraham, Jesus, and of course, Mohammed.

Pits filled with pigeon poop

Traditional leather making: There are only two places in Morocco that still process leather by hand instead of in an factory setting, and Marrakesh has one of those places. Due to the intense smell of animal flesh, bird feces used for processes and who knows what else, everyone was given a piece of mint to smell as we toured the place. It is basically a group of pits in the ground filled with water and whatever the liquid is that they dip the skins in to turn them into leather. The workers stand thigh deep in the pits and pass the skins from one pit to another to work the magic. As ugly as the process is, the results are beautiful; colorful leather rugs, bags, shoes and much more.

Jemaa Fna Plaza: According to UNFCO World Heritage Sites Jemaa Fna Plaza has various meanings in Arabic, two of which are mosque or assembly of death or mosque at the end of the world.

I couldn’t have said it better myself, considering I felt like I had stepped out of any semblance of morality or decentness and entered a free-for-all, every creature for himself, survival of the fitness zone. The desperation of the people to make money is incredible- but far more incredible, the lengths they will go through to obtain even one dollar. The best way I can describe the feeling of being a foreign female walking around with two other foreign females is to say that we were like gazelles in a lions den. Like Justin Beiber in a mob of 13 year olds. Like flys around my sister Colleen. All that to say, I felt very vulnerable because of the constant pestering and harassing of the vendors. 

However, everyone made it out no worse for the wear and I love the souvenirs that I got in the process. My favorites are a traditional Moroccan tea set and a kilo of dates. Soooo delicious!

The food was a nice change from Spanish food, and I loved getting some actual spicy food for the first time since September. Although some things were more strange than others, I enjoyed about everything that I ate and/or drank. Some highlights:

Amazing pastries that were mostly all made with
almonds or marzipan

Chicken couscous from the plaza. It was very cheap and not
 actually all that good, although I like couscous in general

The name of this dish is tangier, taken from the name of the actual dish it comes in. My favorite meal of the trip! 

Avocado "juice" which is basically blended avocados (I think they add a little milk and sugar as well)- strange but good