Happy Halloween

This is a picture before the party in Sineu.  The party was great, but we didn’t want to stay over because there were a lot of people and we were going to have to sleep on the floor so we ended up going to Manacor around 3am to go out until we could catch the train at 6am.  However, due to daylight savings, we ended up having to be out in Manacor for an extra hour!!  We did catch a glimpse of Rafael Nadal leaving a bar though.

Boots of Spanish Leather

Never heard this version before, but I like it!

I was needing shoes for the “winter” here, and  I’ve been wanting boots from Spain since my last trip because the leather goods are really good quality.  I kept holding off in Madrid because they were really, really expensive.  I found these boots today, and  I’m psyched because I think they’re really cute and practical, and they were handmade in Mallorca.  I found them at a local handcrafted products store one of my teachers told me about, and they were only 26 euros, which is a steal considering how well-made they are.  They would be at least $80 in the States!  Tonight, I’m going to a Halloween party at my friend’s cottage in the village of Sineu, which is as mom so eloquently put it, “the belly button of the island.”

View of the island Sa Dragonera from Pas Vermell

Did a nice hike today walking through the mountains from Port D’Andratx to Sant Elm.  It was about a 3-hour hike and very lovely!

A couple things

A crazy street dog in Binissalem played chicken with me in the street today.  It was little and yappy… and evil.  It had no collar, and its coat was all wild, and its eyes were filled with rage.  I seriously think it had rabies.  It looked at me all crazed and blood-thirsty, stared me down and then charged.  I literally started running from it, and a truck rounded the corner and probably saw the whole ordeal.  Traumatic!

In other news, I found fudgesicles in the supermarket today.  Win.

Wednesday Musings

Hello, all!  I’m just waiting for the water to boil for my “alubias blancas con chorizo picante” (white beans with spicy chorizo soup).  I found the recipe in the Spanish magazine “Pronto” and thought I’d give it a shot for my first course, or primer plato. The main course (segundo plato) will be a nice shrimp jalfrezi if all goes accordingly!  I’m cooking through my siesta right now, though, so… something’s gone terribly awry already!  The truth is I have only taken one really satisfying siesta since getting here a month ago.  Criminal, I know, as this is the first time naptime has been institutionally built into my day since kindergarten… Alas, that good old American compulsion to fight down-time has gotten to me yet again!

School’s been pretty great this week because my Halloween lessons are going really well, if I do say so myself.  The teachers seem pleased as well, which is a bonus.  The most difficult part about my job, I’d say, is the way they divide the classes up here.  They put all the most motivated students in the same class, leaving all the least motivated students together.  So, let’s just say, I was not looking forward to a 55-minute Halloween presentation for the unmotivated 17 and 18-year-olds.  Imagine senioritis multiplied by 10… and in a foreign language.  The kids in this class know so much more than they want to let on too, it’s sort of frustrating.  I think they just want to look aloof and cool.  Anyways, I was excited because we played a really fun round of Halloween Pictionary at the blackboard, and they were really engaged and using their English skills without even realizing it.  Basically, they were just divided into two teams and I had pictures of Halloween costume ideas on my computer, like ‘zombie, ghost, etc,’ that two students had to draw and their teams had to guess what Halloween costume they were “wearing”.   There was a grammar component to the way they had to answer too.  It was really fun.  I was afraid they would get bored so, I kept throwing in names of celebrities like the soccer player Ronaldinho, which was hilarious because they kept guessing that the kid was drawing a pumpkin or a jack-o’-lantern for some reason, and then at one point after that, a kid was trying to draw a clown, and his team kept guessing “Carles Puyol,” the unattractive Spanish soccer player.  Anyways, I was really happy at the end of the day!

So, I’m riding this momentary high into a delicious dinner.  Will let you guys know how it turns out! 

Tonight, I will probably go to my friend’s apartment, where her roommate has the Trivial Pursuit night, but it’s sort of an exhausting affair because they speak only Catalan, and I might find an alternative plan tonight… Anywho, later everybody!          

Viva España

Viva España/ Viva el Rey/ Viva el orden/ y la ley

Long live, Spain/ Long live the King/ Long live order/ and the law

One of my Spanish friends said this brindis to cheers last night.  To which, another Spanish guy said, “that’s just something drunk people say!”  It’s probably true. 

What a fun weekend it’s shaped up to be. 

I walked around all day on Friday.  Unfortunately, it was one measly cloud away from being a beach day.  We decided to just walk along the coast.  So, we walked alongside an old canal to the contemporary art museum, which is actually in an ancient military fort.  There is a terrace at the museum that you can access for free, and there is a beautiful view of the sea.  You can see the fish market from there, as well as a lovely little square where I grabbed a coffee the other day.  In the square, there is this gothic building with a gorgeous stone angel in the doorway, and the windows are in an intricate cross design.  I was convinced it was a church, even though it didn’t have a steeple.  I asked the waitress, and she said it was la lonja, which I guess is a market.  This one was originally a market for the silk trade.  It is such a gorgeous building.  Here’s a picture of the angel in the doorway:

Anyways, Friday night, I went out for drinks with my Bolivian roommate and her Peruvian boyfriend, one of my friends, and a guy from my program who was going to live in my room if I hadn’t wanted it.  We played the game Uno and then called it a night. 

Then yesterday, some friends and I walked around the historic center again.  There was this crazy festival going on in the main plaza where little kids were wearing sleeping masks and climbing portable rock-climbing walls.  It was hilarious because the kids were so young they were wearing those jeans with the elastic waistband on the butt.  So, basically they were babies and they were blindly grasping for rocks, and I found it really funny.  Also, we stumbled upon this amazing Immigration Fair that I had read about but sort of disregarded because it sounded sort of boring… boring it was definitely not.  There was this line of tents at the park at the foot of the cathedral, and each tent had a different country in it selling delicious food and drinks, and there was music and dancing.  It was mostly Latin American tents, but there were also several African countries and European countries represented.  Then at the end of the line of tents was the biggest pan of paella I have ever seen.  It was the diameter of our old above-ground pool, I’m pretty sure, and it was BRIMMING with seafood paella.  I would have dove into it head-first if not for fear of third degree burns!

Ok, so maybe it was more like there were three pans about this size:  

But I’m especially prone to exaggeration when I’m hungry… and it seemed REALLY huge to me.  Anyways, as you can imagine, it was very delicious, and they piled it onto a big plate.  It only cost 3 euros and 50 cents so it was a steal.

Then for dessert, I had some a sweet tea and piece of cake from the Algerian tent.  The cake was so good, it was layers of crispy pastry with cream in between them, and a sugary layer sort of like the top of a nanaimo bar but vanilla.  Holy crap.  Ridiculous.  Then I waddled around for another long walk, feeling more than satisfied.

Last night, there was a Real Madrid game, and I ran into my Spanish roommate who was headed to watch it at a local bar.  I decided to go for a drink and watch the game, which ended up being a cakewalk for Madrid.  They won 6-1 to Racing Santander, one of the worst teams in the Spanish league.  But it was great hanging out.  My roommate knows the owner well, and some of his friends were there.  So, they were asking me about where I’m from, and they were telling me cool little Spanish colloquialisms.  Anyways, we ended up being there until 5 in the morning chatting and joking around.  The bar was closed to the general public, but we were just hanging around in there.  I think that’s how it works here in Spain, more or less.  If you’re friends with the bartenders or owners, the bar is always open.  Anyways, I ended up not having to pay for any of my drinks, which is great, and I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a while.  At one point, I had tears of laughter streaming down my face.  They told me about some great Spanish music.  Here’s one of the songs they played for me.  It’s a famous flamenco group, and the lyrics of this song were actually originally a poem of my favourite Spanish poet, Federico Garcia Lorca. 

Camaron- La leyenda del tiempo

Enjoy!

The buzz

Not too much new here…  I’ve had a bit of time to explore lately just walking to and fro, and I’m really excited because I’ve gotten a wind in my Spanish-speaking sails so to speak… I’ve been making friends all over the place here, mostly random cafe barkeeps who keep the coffee and interesting conversation coming!  It’s great to discover new haunts, and I’ve found some pretty prime-time study/reading/writing nooks.  It feels great to feel confident in my speaking.  Even though I’m not perfect, I’ve definitely turned a corner and finally have a personality in this language... it’s about time. 

Wednesdays are my earliest day, so today I had to wake up at 6:30 to catch the 7:09 train for school.  It’s a 10-minute walk to the train station here, and the 7:09 arrives into Binissalem at 7:35.   I have to be in school by 8.  The train station in Binissalem is on the other side of town from the school, so it’s about a 15-20 minute walk depending on my pace.  At that time in the morning, it is a pretty brisk stroll because the sun isn’t out yet, and you can hear roosters crowing in the background.  It’s a nice walk though and helps wake me up a bit. 

At school today, I was mistaken for a student again by a different parent lunch monitor who wanted to stop me from leaving the building… good grief!  School was good today, but now I’m tired.  Wish I was more interesting right now.  Maybe I’ll be more interesting after a siesta…

2-day School week

End of the two-day school week already… and I’m exhausted.  I had to do a 40-minute presentation on Canadian immigration in a class with the comprehension level of 6 yr-olds.  It was so difficult.  Other than that, things were ridiculous as per usual.  Yesterday in music class, I danced a traditional Mallorquin folk dance with a kid who’s literally 4 feet tall.  And today, one of the lunch monitors mistook me for a student so she was telling me I couldn’t leave the building.  Ridiculous.  I do not look U-17!  Plans for the afternoon: sleep!

Adventures in cooking Parte II

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Piquillo-Peppers-Stuffed-with-Goat-Cheese-358729

Stuffed Piquillo Peppers for a night of Trivial Pursuit

Wait… when did this become a foodie blog?

Adventures in cooking

Found a nice recipe on Epicurious for “Roasted Mackerel and Avocado Salad”

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Mackerel-and-Avocado-Salad-355474

I found out how to clean and cut fresh mackerel into fillets… so you learn something new everyday, I guess.  If anyone was curious, mackerel is fairly popular in Spain, and its name in Spanish is caballa. 

It was a delicious, rich recipe that I will definitely make again!

Playa Maricel

About a 20-minute bus-ride from my apartment

The week’s end

Well, my three-day work week is over.  It was tough work, but somebody has to do it.  We have Columbus Day here too, but it’s called Dia Nacional de Espana.  So, right now I have a five-day weekend followed by two days of work.  Tough life.  

School was fine for the rest of the ‘week’.  To address Maura’s inquiry, I did play “If I Were a Rich Man” for the kids in one of my music classes.  The teacher left the room for a  quick minute and the kids were getting unruly, so I pulled it out as a secret disciplinary weapon.  The kids went NUTS.  They started applauding me and screaming and throwing their hands in the air like they just didn’t care.  I think they were just shocked after all the hunting and pecking I was doing trying to read the music for “Big, Big Girl.”  Anyways, the kids are really cute and seem to like me and there are a couple really great teachers.  I have an hour break every day so I’ve been walking to the Church plaza and reading or writing over a cup of coffee.  Quite tranquil. 

Wednesday night, a group of us went to one of my friend’s apartments and played Spanish trivial pursuit with her roommates.  Some of the questions were more focused on Spanish politics and sports so it was tough, but I learned a lot.  On a very interesting note, one of her roommates is from Mallorca, and she hangs in the same circle as Rafael Nadal.  So, when he’s in town, she said she’d let us know where he goes out.  I guess he spends his time in Manacor when he’s in Mallorca because the tourists in Palma (a.k.a. me) would harass him. 

This whole weekend there is a tapas fair going on throughout the city called Tapalma.  Basically, it’s like the tapas fair Emily, Phil and I went to in Madrid last year, except for that instead of being in an arena, there are tables set up outside the actual bars, and you walk around sampling.  It’s a competition for the restaurants; so, it’s pretty good, unique dishes and they capped the prices so its a good way to experience some of the more chichi places here. 

We walked around for a little bit last night, and there was an Indian restaurant that won last year that was good.  I asked them if they have chaat papri, and they said they do; so, dad’s prayers have been answered, and they gave me a lot of props for knowing my stuff.  We ended up getting full after like two places so we walked around for a bit and went to the billiards bar across the street from my apartment for a drink, or so we thought.

Remember my travel tip about asking a local if there is a good regional drink?  Well, I did that and it was definitely awesome.  We had all these rounds of Tunel on the house.  Tunel is a liquor made of sweet herbs, and it was quite awesome.  We met some really cool people at the bar.  It’s sort of a towny dive, and it was really great asking the locals questions about how to say certain things and general stuff about the area.  We were only going to stop in for a drink, but we ended up staying till like 4:30AM.  When I got home, I even skyped with mom and dad.  It was a great night/morning, and I didn’t have to work today so I went to the beach!  This weekend, some of us are talking about doing a two-day excursion in Mallorca, but we haven’t decided where yet.  I’m going to a movie tomorrow night, but I’m not sure it’s dubbed or subtitled.  Hopefully the latter!  I hope all is well in Norteamerica!

1st Day Jitters

So, today was my first day at school.   Off to a great start, the train came about two minutes early; so, I missed it and had to wait half an hour for the next one to come.  So… I was a little late, and I was sweating by the time I got to school because it was so hot out.  I know you guys back at home can’t commiserate with that whole warm-weather situation, and I’m  sorry for that, but in this one particular instance, I would have been loving a brisk autumn breeze, or at least my pits could have used it.  Anyways, the secretary reassured me when I got there and I went to class, where the teacher said he didn’t even know I was supposed to be there today.  Anyways, it wasn’t a big deal because I guess they decided I would spend the first week just observing classes, which is fine by me…

Music class was a bit chaotic.  The teacher told the kids I don’t understand any Spanish, which of course fueled giggles amongst a group of “cool” boys, the ringleader of which goes in spanish, “WAIT.  So she can’t understand ANYTHING.  I’m saying.  RIGHT.  now!??!?!” and I was sort of thinking, “oyyy,” but I said in English, “Just because I can’t understand you doesn’t mean you can talk about me!”  That’s when I realized they really had no idea what I was saying and they are going to have a hard time understanding me…

ANYways, we were singing this song called “Big, Big Girl” that isn’t even really 100% grammatically sound, for the record, and then the teacher tells me to go on the piano and try to play.  I was mortified!! I haven’t read music in like 10 years.  It wasn’t really that bad, as the kids in the class were all playing recorder and singing, and the teacher was playing guitar.  When a girl came out on the bongos is when I realized that this whole situation was turning very School of Rock very quickly.  Basically, all I could do is laugh all day.  The poor kids in the music class were so cute but really had trouble with english.  At the end of class, one kid ran up to me in despair and shouted in Spanish, “but how can I talk to you if you don’t speak Spanish?” It was so sad.

Then I went to a class where they were teaching English grammar, and they asked me about myself.  Weirdest questions. ever.  I think they were confused whether I was Canadian or Canarian (from the Islas canarias) because they were asking me if I knew Javier Bardem.  They were hilarious, but it was VERY difficult explaining that I’m both American and Canadian.  Other questions that were funny: “Why is your skin so dark?” haha, um, “are you a yoga teacher?” hhaha absolutely no idea where that came from.  The next class went the same, except they were a little more advanced, and I had a little posse of girls wanting to know everything about me and if I was coming on the trip to Germany in November (unfortunately the answer is no).  I’m pretty sure I’m not going due to finances.  I mean, I spent my 20 minute break having a lecture in catalan about how the economic crisis has affected education jobs and budgets and how we have to focus on the quality of public education despite cutbacks and the 40% drop-out rate… or at least that’s what I think the guy was saying… again, another situation in which I could do nothing but laugh in my head because he could have been talking about anything, and I was just sitting there letting it wash over me while putting words in his mouth.

So, yes, it was quite the funny first day.  I just got back from tapas hopping on the Tuesday night route and met some new friends, two girls in my program, a guy from Uruguay and a spaniard, all in all a great evening, much spanish was spoken, good times were had, etc.  I have to wake up in 5 hours which is a little bothersome, but, what can ya do!?  hasta luego, amigos

La copa mundial y yo

Today, the WORLD CUP was being shown for 7 hours at “La Caixa,” an art gallery and cultural centre.  They were showing it in a room on the second floor that has a Manet exhibit going on.   Virtually none of the foreign tourists here knew what was going on because they only advertised that it was here in the Diaria Mallorca, the local Spanish paper.   I waited in line for about an hour, and the Spanish couple behind me in line was talking about how it just looked like everyone was in line to see the Manet exhibit.  Literally, there were no signs saying that the World Cup was there, and everyone was being very secretive about why they were in line.  At one point, a British guy asked the lady who works there what the deal was, and what was showing there… and she just told him it was a temporary exhibit and gestured toward a poster advertising the art exhibit.  Kind of brutal.  The kids in front of me in line were playing POGS with wrestlers pictured on them.  It was sort of awesome to see that such a ridiculous fad has spread to Spain.

A Room of One’s Own

This afternoon was lovely.  I got back from the beach with a couple of friends, and then was finally able to go grocery-shopping because I am no longer living in a hostel and now have a KITCHEN.  I moved into my room today!  Thank God we have a little 3-person elevator in our building because I’m on the 3rd floor, and my suitcase has been teaming up with gravity to destroy me, basically.  Once I got there, the girl who’s leaving was all ready to go, and my roommate’s mom actually went with me to the store to get sheets because she knew of a good deal. 

Then we had a lovely lunch, complete with great company and great food (first plate was sliced tomato, fresh mozzarella, parsley, garlic, a little olive oil and salt, second plate was a delicious creamy mushroom pasta, and I brought some bread from a local bakery that we used to sop up any excess deliciousness).

Here are some pictures of my room, complete with pictures of the view from my window.  The balcony pictured in one of those shots is our little terrace in the living area!

I really love it, and the location can’t be beat.  There is a little bar across the street and a tae kwon do studio, and also a supermarket 2-seconds away.  Dad, I hope you’re listening (or rather, reading), on my 2-minute walk to the main train/bus station, there is an Indian restaurant with a plethora of delicious-looking things including several types of biryani and aloo tikki.  No sign of chaat, but my eyes are peeled!

I will post pictures of the surrounding area and the living areas another time, preferably when no one is around.  Also, good news, one of my friends lives near me, and we can walk home together at night.  Safety first last and always! 

First week in the bag

Hello all, yesterday marked the one-week mark in my island adventure.  It feels like I’ve been here a lot longer because I’m still living out of my luggage in the hostel, and some dirty laundry has accumulated, of course.  I moved to a hostel in the historic center and met three girls from my program who have been pretty great companions to me thus far.  Yesterday, we had our orientation, and it was really well-organized, on-time, informative, really pretty ideal.  It was held in this cultural center where they also have art exhibits showing, and it ended in a beautiful courtyard where there were buffet-style nibbles like bite-size tortilla espanola, cups of a delicious salad, phyllo pastry stuffed with fish and peas and onions, etc.  They were also serving various wines, and cups of melon pulp sprinkled with ham… of course, ham. 

Here are some pictures on the walk back from the beach one day.  And don’t worry, there is much more to this place than the beach.  There is a lot to do on the island, actually, it’s a very active place.  I have a lot of free time, as I’m only working three days a week (Tuesdays through Thursday); so, I’m quickly gathering a list of hobbies.  But all in time.  I have to install myself in my apartment first! 

I’m moving into my apartment in three hours or so, and I can hardly wait. Yesterday I met up with my roommate who is from Bolivia, and she seems great.  She has two jobs and is studying full time in the afternoon; so, she is spread pretty thin.  She’s a great language resource, as she doesn’t speak any English, and the conversation was good.  She’s very helpful.  Her boyfriend is Peruvian, and my other roommate is from Spain.  So, I am really looking forward to a lovely little crash-course.  The Venezuelan girl whose room I’m taking over is flying off to Germany this afternoon.  She’s lived in the apartment with the Bolivian girl for two years so they’re having a big goodbye lunch for her before she goes, which I’m going to.  It should be nice.  Well, I hope all is well, and I will be posting shortly with pictures of my apartment.