Spanish people are so smart!

So I love how Spanish grocery stores understand that some days you may not need a huge cart, yet you may be too lazy to carry a heavy basket while shopping. So to fix this dilemma, the stores here have baskets on wheels with sturdy plastic leashes that you drag behind you. Love it.

Thank you, Spain. My arm is not tired from carrying little boxes of wine and milk that you sell for 55 cents and delicious pear yogurt.

Happy Chorizo Day in Puertollano!!

So last Sunday was Chorizo day in Puertollano.  For those of you who have never had chorizo, it is a really good sausage-like meat that is soooo good.  In Mexico, chorizo is a little different---usually spicy.  Here in Spain, it can be sweet, spicy, or normal flavor, similar to salami I think.

It is very common to buy chorizo like the picture below...mmmmm lol


It is really good served as a tapa (appetizer) with cheese and green olives.

So anyway, every year on January 23, Chorizo Day is celebrated to remember many years ago when people would initiate la matanza, which means basically "the pig slaughtering" that would take place at their homes in the country.  There are also different stories about Chorizo Day.  Some people say that many years ago when there were issues with religious differences in Spain, people would eat Chorizo to show that they were Christians, as opposed to the Muslim or Jewish people who did not eat pork for religious reasons.  A little history lesson!  Really, people just use Chorizo Day nowadays as an excuse to eat and drink all day!  Which is exactly what I did!! 

My friend Toni, another wonderful friend that I have made who is also an English teacher where I work, invited me to spend this day with her family and friends at a friend's house in el campo (the country).  It was about 10 minutes away from where I live, and it was so fun.  Again, like Teresa's family, Toni's family and friends made me feel so welcome.  I really enjoyed myself and felt very comfortable among good people.


Here are some pictures from this meat-worshipping day...

This is Natalia (right) and her friend Maria.  Natalia is the hija of my friend, Toni.  I took this picture mainly to show you this cat---her name is Cacahuete (Peanut), which is the name of MY cat in Ohio!!  This is my Peanut!! (below)  I miss her!!

This perrito (puppy)'s name is KITTY haha.

My good friend, Toni, and our little friend Patricia.  Toni is a wonderful person!

The country house is a house that has been in Toni's friend's family for many, many years.  It is on a big property, and they have a tennis court, as well as this court, for Paddle Ball.

Here we ate the famous dish, Migas.  This is actually the same dish that I ate at "my" restaurant where it had scary whisker fish.  Thankfully, this dish only had chorizo and peppers.  It was wonderful.  We all stood around the table with forks eating out of this big bowl and drinking wine.  No plates, low-maintence!  They said life is very simple en el campo (on the farm)!

This is my new friend, Maria Dolores.  She is the friend of Toni whose family owns the farm house and property.  She is an English teacher at a primary school here, and we are going to begin meeting for coffee once a week to practice conversation in English.  She said she'd help with my Spanish too!  She is definitely buena gente (good people) and it was very nice meeting her.

Maria Dolores told me that iglesia (church) in the distance is where she got married. 

Very cool table in their yard.  I love the Spanish style of very colorful tiles.

A picture with all of the husbands that were at the farm.  They were all really funny.  We had a great time joking around.

I went to put away my camera, and these guys were like WHAT ARE YOU DOING???  Take our picture!  They were LOVING posing, and felt it very necessary to pose with the Spanish flag.  They kept saying "Campeones del mundo!" (Champions of the world)---from their World Cup victory last year.

Overall, it was a very successful Chorizo day!  We ate SO MUCH, especially chorizo.  Honestly, it felt like we were eating all day long. Good times!

Feliz cumpleanos Jorge!

Last Saturday, my friend Teresa invited me to her son's first birthday party.  Teresa is an English teacher at the school where I work, and she is suuuuuch a nice person (really, all of the teachers in the English dept are!).  So I went to help her son, Jorge, celebrate his 1st cumpleanos (birthday), and I had a fantastic time.  I met many people in her family, and everyone was so incredibly welcoming, warm, and overall muy buena gente (great people).  I really, really enjoyed myself.  They made me feel like part of the family, and for that, I am very appreciative! Here are some pictures from the fiesta :).

Teresa's father-in-law cooking the paella.  I have NEVER seen such a huge cooking device in a family home! Very impressive.

The birthday boy, JORGE :), and his aunt Victoria

This BABY oh my GOSH SO CUTE!!!  THis is Marcos, Teresa's sobrino (nephew).  His cheeks were the cutest things (Aunt Kay, you would have wanted to bite them like crazy!!haha)..and he was wearing the cutest corbata (tie)!!!!

The final product!! So impressive, right?  Like a professional restaurant!  My first time eating the famous Spanish dish, paella.  Paella is typically rice (sometimes noodles), with meat, langostinas (shrimp), almejas(clams),  peppers, tomatoes, and more that I forget...And it tastes really good with squeezed limon on top!  It was amazing...This is Teresa's dad with me in the pic.

Felicidades, Jorge! (Congratulations!)  This Bob Esponja (Spongebob) cake was soooo riquisimo (very delicious)!! 

My friend Teresa with Jorge and all of the primos (cousins).

The cutest lil baby tie EVER!

Haha pobre (poor) Jorge did not really love when his dad put icing on his face!

 

One of Jorge's birthday regalos (presents): the cutest puffy jacket.  Que chulo!! (how cool!)

I love this picture of Teresa and Jorge.  One of my little gifts to Jorge was this American bandera (flag).  On it I wrote, Happy Birthday Jorge!!

 The main entertainment: the Mickey pinata!!!!

Haha the birthday boy scurrying around to get the dulces (candy).  This 1-year old is QUICK when he wants candy!!!!

My new dear friend, Teresa! :) 

Marcos about ready to leave the party.  This is one of those baby sleeping bags I was talking about in a diff post that EVERY baby is wrapped up in.  They are the cutest things.  This baby is a saint---He didn't make a sound the entire party, except when he's hungry (which I don't blame him, I get fussy when I'm hungry too, lil man!!).  How do I sign up for such a well-behaved baby when that day comes for me? 

Fresh prince of spain?

So as I always say, I'm so down with being open to new things here, but I'm sorry, the fresh prince of bel-air intro song is just nottttt the same in Spanish :(

A special thanks!

Just wanted to give a special shout out to a group of very dear friends of mine from Goshen Lane elementary in Gahanna, Ohio.  Jenny, DonnaD, Karen, Silvia and Carolyn----I received your card yesterday and it absolutely MADE my day.  It was so extremely thoughtful of you and I loved it.  I am so thankful to have had the honor of working with you all!  You are such good, kind, fun, genuine people and I very appreciative of our friendship. Les quiero mucho!!

This pic is a little blurry, but it still makes me smile! Guess that's what I get for asking a random 3rd grader in the hall to take the pic ha.

Blah

I want to be better at speaking Spanish already! I've studied so many years of it, it's hard to believe I'm not better than I am. Of course I know speaking in a Spanish-speaking country is a whole different thing than studying Spanish in classes year after year. But I'm just having a stubborn day... I want improvement already!!!! Not a fan of this frustration, trying to see it as a challenge like I normally do.

Tomorrow will be better I'm sure.

I have some great pics and things to share about my weekend. Tomorrow hopefully I'll get to catch you up :)

Gnight everyone!

LOVIN me some Spanish food! :)

Croquetas de Bacalao (delicious Cod fishballs)

PS I made these!  And by make, I may just mean I bought a frozen bag of them.

 Huevos y arroz (Eggs and rice)

The rice had a plain tomato sauce on it---very good!

 This was some sort of pork and patatas fritas (fried potatoes, aka glorifed french fries!)

 Now THIS, my friends, is a very famous Spanish dish called Migas.  This is what many people tell me about when I ask what Spanish food they recommend that I try.  It was good, but to be honest, it was just bread crumbs at the bottom of a bowl that were fried up a bit, and then some various meats and veggies on top.  I loved the slices of green peppers and chorizo.  I did not particularly love, however, the not-so-tiny sardinillas (yes, sardines...) that had straight-up WHISKERS!!  Like not just a couple, either. Like a significant amount of bigotes (whiskers).  Like more than my cat. I tried to eat it, but I could only eat one.  Sorry, Spain.  I failed. :(  I did, however, NOT fail at enjoying my personal little bottle of wine that was given to me that day at lunch! :)

 THIS dessert, made up for the whiskered fish.  It was tarta de limon (lemon pie/cake).  I wish so badly that you could taste how wonderful it was.  So good.

 My friend who owns the restaurant brought me this after the lemon tart.  An after-lunch sweet, dessert chupito (shot)?  Don't mind if I do!

This was a creamy soup with pork ribs.  Just like everything else (well, aside from the whiskered-sardines), this was wonderful.

This is the heavenly hazelnut spread that I mentioned in a previous posting that I will no longer allow myself to purchase.  It's dangerously good. 



I PARK WHERE I WANT!!

This was just too funny, saw it when I was walking home yesterday.

"Does your brother have a girlfriend??!!?"

So with each of my 14 different classes (yes 14---I have so many different sections partially because there are 6 classes that are divided into two groups, and I see each group every other week.), I have been introducing myself and showing pictures of my family, friends, cat lol, softball pictures from college, etc...  They really enjoy seeing them, ESPECIALLY the girls.  The girls LOVE my brother haha.  "Que GUAPO ES!!!" (He's so good-looking!)  Zach,  not trying to give you a big head or anything lol, but I have to like pry the pictures out of their hands before they leave my class.  And of course many of my male students ask the bold question if I am single or not.  I tell them I'm too old for them, but then the Rico Suaves of the class say that a 9 year age difference is no problem at all.  Calm down, buddy.  Not happening.

Ok so I have a variety of topics I would like to touch on since I have been lame with updating recently.

Number 1--Activia yogurt is holding out on us in the US...Here, they sell pear flavor.  SO good. 

Number 2--I am no longer allowing myself to buy Crema de Cacao.  It is basically Nutella, and I just bought it because many Spanish people eat it and I'm trying to do like they do, ya know?  However, I can't control myself with this container of heavenly chocolate-hazelnut goodness.  No more.

Number 3--Puertollano, where I live, gets VERY foggy.  These are some pictures that I took on my walk to school one morning.  Mind you, it was around 10:45am.
(hold that thought, and all my other thoughts---I didn't realize what time it was...I have to go to my first private English lesson!  A spouse of a person I work with at school.  I'll finish my thoughts and picture explanations later!! Hasta luego!)

Ok I'm back...
I just finished la comida, the main meal at lunch time.  I didn't go to "my"restaurant today.  I actually cooked in attempt to save a little money.  On the menu today, there was a caesar salad with apples and tomatoes, and then I cooked what I THOUGHT were pork chop-ish cuts of pork.  To my surprise, I bit into the pork, and inside the meat was melted, wonderful, delightful queso!  I looked at the label, and it said "San Jacobos".  I just thought this was a type of meat company, a brand?  But apparently this is a famous Spanish tapa that is basically Chicken Cordon Bleu.   Not sure if anyone knew this already?  I am not too experienced in the kitchen and domestic-cooking-housewife area, so of course this was news to me!  Good to know!



Yes, my school is in that fog somewhere!



A pretty church that is very close to my apartment.

The view from my seat on the bus to Ciudad Real last week when I tried to get my residence ID card.

I have taken my picture-taking to a whole new level of creepiness.  I just HAD to take a picture of these cute old men, walking behind their daughters and pulling girlie wheely bookbags---one, being Hannah Montana. they had just picked up their daughters from school.

In case I am ever looking for boot in-soles para ser mas altos (to be taller), I know just the place down the street where I can buy them...

Ok so I have caught you up on the pictures...here I have my afternoon glass of vino...there is a Spanish-speaking Jennifer Love Hewitt chasing Spanish-speaking ghosts on another episode of The Ghost Whisperer on in the background....life is good.

I have been SO pleased with my placement at the school here.  I am really getting to know some of the teachers at the school, especially the ones of the English dept.    Tmorrow I am going to a friend's son's first birthday party!  And I will go with another friend and her family to a cottage somewhere in the country to celebrate Chorizo Day on Sunday.  These teachers/friends have made me feel so welcome and like I've been here all along---I really appreciate them!  I really enjoy going to work everyday, which is always a plus :)

I also have learned to really appreciate the lifestyle here in Puertollano.  At first, it seemed inconvenient to me in a way that all the stores closed at 2 and don't reopen again until 3 hours later at 5pm.  But now, I witness how they rush home from work to spend time and eat la comida, the most important meal of the day, with their family.  They really take time to enjoy life here.  They don't let work take over their lives (at least the people I've been around).  I feel like sometimes in the U.S. (again, from my experience at least), many people---including myself---get so caught up in work and this and that....that we just get so busy busy busy that we are constantly running around from one thing to the next.  It is hard to really take a moment and enjoy things with so much stress.  It's not like that here, which I really like.  It's a different feel, a different lifestyle.

I have learned that not everyone takes siestas here, but many, many do, which is awesome!  I love that naps are socially acceptable and even expected in some cases haha.  Although I have to say, as much of the nap-lover that I am, I haven't partaken in a nap for a couple days now!  What a surprise!  I've just been running around doing this and that after work. 

Anyway, this week, it is my turn on the horario de limpieza (cleaning schedule) in our apartment to clean los banos.  So I am off to get my clean on and then after, I am going to spinning class at the gym that I just joined.  Gotta burn off that Spanish Cordon Bleu!!