If there is one thing that was stressed to me before and immediately after arriving to Spain in January, it was being warned that "Ohhhh just wait for summer!" "It gets so hot!" "You won't want to go outside!" Yadda yadda yadda. I often felt like I was given the warning at the beginning of BeerFest, "If you attempt to do anything outside during the summer....... You will DIE." Now that it's actually summertime, and yes, hot, the warnings are only becoming graver. "Wait until August!" "This is nothing, just wait!" "If you step outside in August, your skin will immediately burn off, and you will look like a part of the Bodies Exhibit!" Ok, so I made up the last one, but you get the gist of the situation. While I appreciate people giving me information that they deem necessary, this dry heat is a welcome blessing after always living in places with ridiculous humidity (Illinois, Iowa, and DC). Yes, that sun is a killer, and yes, I sweat more than Bigfoot....in a wool sweater....in Death Valley, but there is a HUGE difference between hot in DC and hot in Spain. Plus, there are no clouds in the sky and it's sunny every day. I actually dry all of our laundry on a clothesline because it's faster than our bogus dryer; all of our stuff is dry in an hour, the sun is that hot. I can understand why the Spanish siesta, because a lot of small businesses do not have air conditioning. Still, the heat hasn't prevented me from going shopping in Sevilla or bike riding at 3 in the afternoon....
Massive downfall to a dry, hot climate: cockroaches. No matter how clean I keep the house (and for all of you who have lived with me in DC, you know that beeyatch is clean), they still manage to find their way into our basement. I have gotten good with my Raid aim and at finding their secret meeting places, which I sprayed the shit out of. I am slightly yearning for fall, as the cucarachas will be making their departure. Good riddance.
Summer has been pretty low-key. I transitioned from my job as Health Tech/PE teacher over to the Secretary/Registrar position, so that means a slight pay increase and more hours. It's not an ideal teaching position, but it appeals to my OCD-inspired organization inclinations and gives me a chance to see the logistical functioning of a school. Plus, I get to greet parents and kiddos when they need something, which is always a nice perk. Since the kids aren't here, I've basically organized and archived a bunch of old files, updated records in the new online registration system, and updated forms for next school year. Sometimes the days go by really quickly, other times I'm surfing the net for travel ideas. Most of the time, it's just me and the cleaning lady, Chari (pronounced "chatty") who is super nice but speaks no English. Things were entertaining when Spanish painters from CE (Civil Engineering) were touching up the school, as they would teach me Spanish words, and I would teach them English words. Oh, the joys of bilingual partnerships!
El went back to the States to be best man in his best friend's wedding, so he got to enjoy the amazingness that is McDonald's, Wendy's, and Sam Adams Summer Ale (WHICH, btw, we found at Rota the first day it became available...we bought 3 cases and are conserving like we're Elaine on Seinfeld). While he was gone, I spent my days at the pool (it is actually REALLY nice, with 2 water slides and diving boards), went shopping/had lunch in Sevilla a few times, and watching old episodes of Law and Order: SVU on Netflix. I started working out with a few girls on base and did my first spin class yesterday, so that has forced me to get my butt off the couch and away from Law and Order. I also went to a game night/pot luck on Wednesday with a bunch of other spouses and had a BLAST. I made this Greek pizza, and I gave the disclaimer that I had never made it before so if people didn't like it, it was okay to not eat any more (thank you Mom, for that lesson in life). I didn't have time to defrost chicken, so I used this canned stuff from Hormel, and after I made the pizza I kept having panic attacks that I had accidentally bought dog food. I checked the website to double check and was relieved that I was not going to poison anyone. Everyone ended up complimenting me on the pizza, and it became the running joke that I was just fishing for compliments (which is clearly what I'm doing here jk). I had a lot of fun with everyone playing Guesstures and Buzz Word, and I discovered that I am actually really good at Buzz Word. I will take on all challengers... Other than that, I did a trip to the beach right outside of Malaga, where I encountered a group of 20-something men all wearing matching fedoras who took off their swimsuits in the water and swung them over their heads while hooting and wooing. Oh, you silly Spaniards!
Also, Will's visa to Saudi Arabia got messed up somehow, so he has been living with me and El for the past 2 weeks, since his things have already been shipped. We've been calling him our son.
RANDOM SPANISH OBSERVATIONS
-It is much cheaper here to get a moped license than it is a car or truck license, so the damned things are everywhere. Like in the States, the drivers have no regard for traffic rules or basically safety. I had to laugh yesterday when El and I saw one cruising down the main "strip" of Utrera, popping a wheelie. His and my definitions of bad ass clearly differ...
-Now that it's too hot to wear boots, Spanish women have made the switch to gladiator-style sandals
-Gazpacho is delicious
-The napkins you get at restaurants (doesn't matter how high-quality the place is) are incredibly thin and made of this waxy material. You go through at least 10 of them in one sitting.
-Every Wednesday, there is a Gypsy market set up by the Utreran bull ring, where vendors sell clothing, jewelry, fruits, and veggies for dirt cheap. It's basically like the Chinese junk stores that are all around Spain (like a higher quality dollar store), but cheaper and run by Los Gitanos. You could easily end up with a basketfull of crap.
-The gypsies are sadly still very much discriminated against in Spanish society, even in Shakira's new song. Even if they do try to bless you with leaves they pulled off a bush in order to make money, at least they're trying to make a living. Sadness for the plight of the gypsies.
-Houses are made out of tile and stone, so you really only have to use air conditioning at night.
LISBON
-Went to Lisbon for an extremely brief period with a group of people, and it was gorgeous! Since I still have to write about Ronda, here is the cliff notes version of my experience:
-EVERYTHING is on hills: houses, business, everthing, and it is a PAIN (literally) to go anywhere in the city
-Lisbon has the best sangria, hands down. I had both the red and white kinds, and they were equally delicious. They use fresh mangoes in their sangria, and just the right amount of wine. So incredibly delicious
-Lisbon is a very colorful city, with bright buildings and fantastic views of the bay and ocean.
-The bread is phenomenal, and they actually serve it with butter! The hard rolls, recommended by El's dad, were also fabulous.
-Portuguese sounds like a mix of French, Spanish, and Dutch
-The streets are lined with artists and people playing "Fado", a certain type of folksy blues music that is native to Portugal on a guitar. Occasionally, you will have other street performers, including this one guy who clearly has never played a saxophone in his life, but the Fado players are the most prevalent.
-Great shopping malls right in downtown and are hardly noticeable
-The sidewalks are incredibly narrow and steep, and they are made out of bits of very smooth rock. I can't even imagine the damage to my face if I ever went during the rainy season.
-If you ever go, check out AdLib restaurant-delicious Portuguese red wine, little "shots" of gazpacho, and this beef cappricio that was topped with basil pesto that was AMAZING. Instant. Food. Coma.
-Somehow found a Scottish bar that looked like it was straight out of Beowulf, minus people drinking mead. But there were bartenders dressed like wenches, long wooden tables, and lots of animal hides on the walls.
-Never try to find an Irish bar in Lisbon: 2 out of the 3 we attempted to visit were shut down, and the 3rd refused to let anyone else in, even though it was only 2am (early by European standards)
-Comfortable walking shoes are a necessity. Wedges will not work and will in fact break. You've been warned.
-The Castillo de San Jorge offers the most spectacular views of the city and ocean. There's really not much to the castle itself, but you can walk along the top, and the sights are unparalleled.
RONDA
This past Sunday, we decided to take a day trip down to Ronda, the "pueblo blanco" cliff town that is immortalized in Ernest Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls", which I am currently reading. We have heard about how beautiful Ronda is since we've gotten here, and it's only an hour and some change away-perfect day adventure. Despite the winding roads and driving through the mountains, we ended up in Ronda in one piece with Will and Stu (Will's replacement). There are two parts to Ronda: the old and new cities, and they are divided by a huge gorge. The gorge in the Plaza de Espana is linked by the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge), and is the site of the fascist execution scene in FWTBT, where they force known fascists off the cliff of the gorge. It ended up being exactly like how I pictured it when I was reading, so that was a pretty fantastic experience being there.
Ronda is known for their bull ring and is described as the home of bullfighting. We were actually able to go onto the sand and stand in the middle of the arena, which was pretty exciting. I then, naturally, had Elliot pretend to be a bull while I pretended to be a matador for a photo op. I don't know why he puts up with me sometimes....
There was a museum dedicated to bullfighting inside the ring, as well as a fantastic gift shop. We found this vintage looking bullfighting announcement poster, which we are now having framed. I also got a matador keychain and my usual purchase: postcards.
For all you Catholicos, you will appreciate that we stumbled upon St. John Bosco's home, which afforded some pretty spectacular views of the city. I always read the stories of the saints when I was little, so being in the home of one was a pretty humbling experience. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't have a brochure that I could take, and there really wasn't a lot of information posted about the home or St. John Bosco himself. Perhaps they assume you already know.
We found the house on our way to the site I was most anxious to see: The Bandit Museum. Everytime I mentioned it on the trip, I would then jump up and down and pretend to shoot my imaginary pistols into the air. The museum was dedicated to the history of bandilleros, and profiled the most notorious/romanticized. Bandits in Spain are the equivalent of American cowboys or England's Robin Hood: romanticized bad boys who (usually) have a heart of gold. I was reading how one bandit was so charming, that he convinced a woman to give him her rings and bracelets because "her hand was so beautiful, it didn't need such ornaments". Haha Another bandit, born in Utrera, disguised himself and collected his own reward money before making his escape. His freedom didn't last too long, however, as he was later executed, andhis head was put on display in a cage in Utrera. There was all sorts of photographs of the bandits, as well as artifacts and popular books and movies about the topic. Even as recently as 2002 there was a cartoon movie about bandits. Guess people's tastes in entertainment don't vary too much across cultures!
After a lunch in a cliff-side cafe that overlooked the gorge (kind of spooky, but awesome), we bid our adieu to the memory of the bandits, saints, matadors, and fascists that once occupied Ronda...
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