Farewell España...

Well, I'm sitting in a hostel in Málaga making my last entry to you and saying goodbye to Spain.  Tomorrow I will fly to Germany and stay with Andreas and his family for a few weeks before going back home.  It's all very exciting!

Looking back, moving here was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life and not because it was all fun and games.  I did have fun but there was a serious struggle going on in me at times to find happiness in a culture that I found to be surprisingly different from my own.  To start, I was very unfulfilled by the work at the high school.  It was difficult to find a rhythm or pace that gave me the sense of satisfaction I get from being a teacher in NYC.  Perhaps it was the fault of my always eagerly high expectations or that I was placed in a school where it was difficult to make solid plans with the teachers for the 12 different classes I co-taught every week.  Who knows but one lesson I most certainly learned is that work culture is culture and it varies from country to country.  If only I had realized this before!

What made me the happiest here was the struggle to learn the language.  With this I was much more patient and enjoyed the process of babbling like a two year old and now chatting away in a blabla (rideshare) car for two hours across the south of Spain.  Like a yoga practice or healthy eating change, I am determined to keep up the Spanish language learning when I return.  I'm open to some tips about how I can do this or hearing about what works for others who maintain their foreign languages. 

Other great things about life in the south of Spain: the beaches and weather!  I was lucky enough to spend an entire month living in Cádiz which has beautiful beaches like the one below and great weather everyday.  Too bad all the tourists know it.  As summer approaches, the tourists flock by the thousands to enjoy the nice and easygoing lifestyle of the coast.  It's bitter sweet for the Spaniards who live there because they have to share their land but it boosts the economy (hypothetically).  

The beach just a few blocks from my house (and a plug for EWald, great Brooklyn based music)

Day trip to Conil.  This is after spending time huddled in a little rock cave with Andreas and our friend Ferran while a giant thunderstorm blew over us. 

Horse Feria of Jerez!  The tradition lives on!

And another great thing was the traditions and simple beauty of Andalucía.  I will miss walking on century old cobble stone roads and stopping for a rest on a bench in one of some hundreds of plazas surrounded by well kept gardens in every city and town here.  It was really something for me to be surrounded by many old buildings with so much history.  Sadly, with the economic crisis, some of the most treasured places like the cathedral in Jerez is slowly deteriorating as there is no money to keep up with the maintenance.  My Spanish professor explained during one of my classes that this is a very critical time in history for Spain as the country fights to restore the quality of life that existed here not so long ago.  Certainly, it´s a topic worth following. 

During the feria it's the custom to wear the traditional dress of Andalucía.

Just outside of my apartment in Cádiz is this beautiful theater.

This is a plaza just outside of the Alcazar of Jerez.  The Alcazar was a fortress and palace built in the 10th century by the Moors.  My favorite thing about this plaza are these trees with vibrant purple flowers that you cannot experience from this photo...too bad. 

So, this is goodbye to Spain but not forever.  Andreas and I made some nice connections and friends here which will motivate a return soon enough.  ¡Vamos a ver!

Saying goodbye to Jerez after Andreas's last concert with his buddies.

Easter on an Island

Wow I didn't realize so much time has passed already.  A few things have changed for me here and I've had some great experiences since the last post.  But one thing is still true, I'm living the good life here in Spain and the time that is left seems to be flying even faster.  Andreas and I cannot believe we'll be in NYC again in less than two months now!  So we aren't wasting a single moment to enjoy ourselves and this beautiful country.  For example, we spent Easter in Mallorca (a small Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea) with Gundi.  This year we've explored the highest peaks of the Alps to the most beautiful landscapes at sea level together: a traveling trio.  You won't believe the beauty of this place, Mallorca.   

on one of our first days we found a seaside cafe hidden away in a cave of rocks where we enjoyed delicious spanish cheese and tinto de verano (red wine mixed with lemon soda)

on another day we hiked for an hour through rocky terrain where we encountered many dwarf palm trees and a few baby mountain goats baaing for their mothers

and this is where that hike ended with crystal clear (and cold) water between two giant cliffs...it was breathtaking!

the house we rented was located in the middle of nowhere in a peaceful place of few houses and many pastures of sheep.  one day andreas and i went for a jog and we found a lamb who was separated from his herd on the other side of the rock wall.  so we caught him (not so easily) and made him gundi's surprise easter guest.  we took some photos together then safely returned him to his mother.

and more animal surprises came when we found 5 newly hatched baby chickens in the barn at our house.  the owners of the property raised chickens and award winning racing pigeons as well as lemon, fig, and olive trees.

here you can see typical mediterranean spring flowers that covered the land in every direction you looked.  soon it will be very dry and everything will turn brown

our last day was spent touring the nearby monasteries which were so beautiful and peaceful.  the last one was on top of a very high mountain ridge where there was an incredible amount of wind.  but the sun still shined strongly so we were able to capture this shadow photo under a beautiful arch of the church.

Now with the time that is left, I decided to move to Cádiz (30 minutes by train from Andreas) where I am taking Spanish language classes for four weeks.  This place is absolutely beautiful and there is so much history here because it is the oldest city of Spain.  It is also located on a small peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean so pretty much the entire city is surrounded by the sea.  I'll let wiki tell you more.

Finally I´d like to say that I laugh at myself now when I think about how afraid I was to leave my home country and even scarier, speak Spanish.  No matter what people told me about how easy it would be I couldn't control the fear and tears that overtook me my last days in New York.  And now I feel like I'm living in a dream where the end appears to be getting sweeter every day.  Fear like this (which only exists in your head) is a funny thing to experience and a great thing to overcome.  I am so thankful to everyone who encouraged me to keep going and pushed me through that fear.  I hope I can return the favor.  See you sooner than later!

¡Fiesta, fiesta, fiesta!

The end of winter is the beginning of spring of course but more importantly in Andalucia, the beginning of fiesta season.  They come in all sizes from thousands of people flooding a city to just a large gathering of family and friends.  I have had the privilege to join in on the celebration of Carnaval in Ronda and a romería in Andújar.  

Carnaval is like our American Halloween in one sense because everyone dresses up in costumes and goes out for a party.  The major difference is that the costumes are very homemade and always fun rather than scary.  Then around midnight or so a parade of floats go down the main roadway el paseo and the people gather along the sides and on their balconies.  The Carnaval fiesta in Ronda was nothing special because its a very small city compared to Cádiz where Carnaval is the most famous in Spain.  I had the chance to go there but I decided to stay home because that day the weather was rainy and I didn´t have a costume.  Luckily this party takes place on two weekends (one at the start and one at the end).  For that reason I was able to catch a Carnaval party the following weekend in Ronda where I was visiting a friend from NYC who is also a teacher that decided to take a year off and live in Spain just like me.  It was great to hang out in my mother tongue but we also had some nice moments of speaking Spanish with her flamenco singing friends.

If you take out a camera, everyone is ready to pose for a photo.  Look at me dressed as a Hawaiian...I was not prepared to wear a costume but I did have my bathing suit with me as always.  My friend is the Rastafarian. 

Truly the most unique experience I have had so far in Spain was the romería in Andújar!  This a Catholic tradition that involves a long trek from a village to a religious monument.  In this case we were going to a statue of the Virgin Mary called Virgen de la Cabeza because she was built on a mountain called la Cabeza (the head). Once the people arrive there is a giant party of the most delicious food and plenty of beverages to go around.  I went on this journey with Andreas and his housemate, Mario.  We felt like guests of honor because it was our first time on the pilgrimage and the event was hosted by a tight knit group of mostly family unlike the open parties of Carnaval.  At the evening meal we were awarded certificates and nicknames with our initiation into the "family" horse association.  And why horse association, because the adventure is made on horseback or mule back in the case of Andreas and me.  We rode horses and mules the entire day for over 20 miles (33km).  The journey started at around 10 in the morning and ended after sunset.  It was an incredible experience!

las mulas....our mules that would soon take us on the journey to the virgin.  in this moment they were snacking on the wooden banister.

we were a group of about 45 people and this was our first stop on the long trip.  delicious snacks like bread sticks, mini sandwiches of cheese and ham, and delicious chorizo (a spicy sausage) were being passed around as well as small cans of beer.

simply cuteness!

it's about noon now and the horses and mules are very thirsty after a sweaty climb up the steep hills.  the people are ready for another round of snacks this too.  this time they included yummy chunks of cured sheep cheese, croquettes, and olives and more beer of course.

our fierce leader and father of Mario, the guy who invited us on this trip

it was love at first sight and i think it was mutual.  at some points i couldn't ride this animal knowing that she had to work extra hard to take me up some sharp climbs or down some steep slopes.  i couldn't get over feeling for her so there were times we just walked together instead.  i'm really weak-hearted!

this could be a cigar ad or something.  andreas squeezes in to pose with the big dogs.  i guess you could say these are the leaders of the group but it wasn't really like that.  we had such friendly encounters and we were shown lots of love and appreciation.

the final destination, the sanctuary of the Virgin Mary,  where we had a small service the next morning after a very long night of partying

and the reason for the party...Viva La Virgen de la Cabeza!

So that about sums up what I've been up to the last few weeks.  There are some other important fiestas coming up like Semana Santa which is the Holy Week of closed schools and big parties which include a special kind of music and a parade of Jesus statues.  Andreas and I will be in Mallorca with Gundi and Ferran (mother and best friend of Andreas).  Everyone here tells me there aren't good celebrations of Semana Santa in Mallorca but that might just be because there are high expectations from the people here in the South of Spain.  It's like a competition of who can throw the biggest party and attract the most tourists.  It's understandable...the celebrations are truly impressive!  Here's a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjSjWznTqvs @ 3:11 is really nice.  That's all I've got for now.  My dear friends and family, I hope all is well.  Besos!

Liquid Gold: The Olive Oil Story

This past weekend I decided to take a little trip to Jaén, the capital of the province Jaén, Spain where Siles is located.  Considering all the amazing places to visit in Andalucia, Jaén is not the most impressive however there was plenty to see and do.  One Day 1 I hiked up to the Castle of Santa Catalina that began as an 8th Century Moorish fortress.  Most of the outer walls have crumbled back into the earth but the main structure at the top was turned into a luxury hotel.  The views were impressive.  You had a 360° view of the entire city and beyond the city limits were hundreds of thousands of olive trees.  I managed to take a few photos with my cellphone but they don't do justice to the beauty of the landscape.

You are looking down at the World Capital of Olive Oil.  About 117,000 people live in Jaén.

From the top of the castle you could see a village that is on the other side of the mountain.  Sorry for the lack of clarity but if you look towards the right center you can see the olive groves in their perfect linear patterns.  Now imagine this green dotted textured covering every hillside as far as you can see.  It's spectacular!

More from the top as you approach the western most boundary of the fortress.  The structure on the bottom right was really impressive and seemed very old...maybe a monastery?

This cross is at the very end of the fortress wall.  It is about as tall as a 2 story building.  On the base were many messages of love and romance.  "Te quiero" was probably written about 100 times in all kinds of handwriting and ink colors. 

On my way back I met a mule in a almond tree orchard.  My favorite thing about almond trees is that they bloom in February.  It seems like Spring is coming but there is still about 6 more weeks of winter.

Mutual curiosity!

On Day 2 I took a trip to Begijar which is a tiny village about the size of Siles.  There I experienced the world of olive oil making and the importance of what is equivalent to liquid gold.  I was lucky enough to have a private tour of the facility because I booked my tour on a Sunday during the off season.  

The first lesson was to explain that about 80% of the economy of Jaén depends on the olives for oil, olives for eating, cosmetics, lubricants, and other products made with oil.  This year the olive production had a high medium yield which was significantly better than last year according to the owner of the factory.  

The second lesson was all about how olive oil is the fruit juice of an olive.  No one would use a bad orange to make a carton of OJ and the same goes for making olive oil.  These fruits are super sensitive and can spoil very quickly from oxidation (the process that turns bananas, apples, and avocados brown for example).  Though there are 200 varieties of olives growing in Jaén, the most common and important one is called Picual.  It contains the most oil and has the lowest rate of oxidation.  

The third and most impressive lesson was on the process.  The best olive oil comes from olives that were picked off the tree and not allowed to fall onto the ground.  These olives get the honorary labels of Virgin and Extra Virgin Olive Oil because they are of the highest quality.  The idea is to think of this oil as pure olive juice made only from the work of machines (never through chemical extraction).  The olives are freshly ground into a mash.  The mash is spread onto mats and stacked into layers.  The stack is pressed by a heavy weight that forces the olive oil to drain off the sides and down in to a reservoir.  Here is a wiki with some photos Wikipedia on Olive Oil Making.  Then it's filtered and bottled.  The final step is for it to be evaluated by highly trained olive oil tasters called catas.  Many factors can influence the taste including minerals from the earth in which the tree was growing, particles from the processing, oxidation, species of the plant, and time of harvesting.  My personal favorite was the olive oil made from the first olives of the season.  At this time the olives are still very green and the flavor they produce is a little bitter with a sting at the back of the throat.  Sounds terrible but actually it was the most unique flavor and the best to me.  The last harvest occurs in January and at this point the olives are fully ripened into a purplish black color.  This olive oil is very smooth on the tongue and slightly sweet.  Also very good!

The last lesson which was the most interesting was on the use of the olive parts that don't become oil.  The skin of the olives gets processed into fertilizer for the olive trees and also added to animal feed.  Olives are super healthy and loaded with anti-oxidants that fight disease including cancer.  Pretty amazing!  Next, the pits are ground and dried to become a source of fuel for heating homes.  Lastly, the watery mixture with suspended bits of oil is sent off to be processed with chemicals to extract the oil which will be used for non-edible products like lamp oil and lubricants.

The factory toured ended with a tasting of 3 gourmet olive oils.  The most important ingredient is love.  Notice the blue glass container.  This glass is used by catas when they are evaluating the oil to disguise the color of the oil because there is a misconception that darker green colored oil has a higher quality. 

Finally on Day 3 of my mini-vacation I found a really nice indoor pool and swam and swam and swam.  All in all, I really enjoyed spending my time as a tourist for a weekend.  One thing is for sure, I can never look at olive oil in the same way again.  Knowledge is so powerful!  Hopefully I will be forever changed by the Spanish language learning too.  Bueno, saludos a todos y hasta pronto!

Spain & Punctuality

Hello all.  The newest news is that I moved into my own place or 'piso' in Spanish and I'm quite happy with my decision.  Of course I miss some things about living with a family like the shared meals and endless opportunities to speak Spanish however, there's a sense of freedom that I've gained that feels great.  The place is small and cozy with a beautiful view of the olive trees and incredible sunsets.  There is one bedroom with a double bed, a bathroom with a small shower, a  mini-kitchen with a full stove range and oven, a living room with a brand new flat screen TV (too bad there's never anything good to watch here or anywhere for that matter), a cool circular glass table with matching chairs, and a large desk where I'm sitting now.  At the moment, I can't show you more than this one photo because Andreas has the camera.  Anyway, I assure you it's great and perfect for living 'sola' (alone f).

La buena vista de mi ventana.  I'm living in the top right corner of Siles which affords me this amazing view.  It is much more beautiful on a sunny day as you can probably imagine.

UPDATE:  here's the sunset photo thanks to an email from andreas

So tonight I had a nice long (30 minutes or so) conversation in Spanish (of course) about punctuality particularly among students and teachers.  To me, there is no such thing as punctuality in Spain and I don't mean it in a negative way.  Everyone seems to be so much cooler about time as I've mentioned before to the point where a shop says it will open at 5:30pm (after siesta) and in fact the shop keeper is just walking up to the door at 6:00pm.  And she does not seem to be at all in a hurry despite the small collection of customers waiting by the door.  It's just the way it goes here.  However there are people here who consider themselves to be punctual.  For example, I heard a teacher express his frustrations with his adult students who walk in late to their evening class.  A non-Spaniard offered him a solution to his problem and suggested that the door be closed and locked at 4:30pm when the class is said to start but it seemed too cruel.  The teacher realized that there might only be 4 out of the 20 students in class that evening.  Then worse when the teacher realizes his students are always going to be late the teacher begins to arrive late as well.  What a vicious cycle!  I especially enjoyed hearing from another teacher who also believes in being on time for things but she explained how it's difficult to be a hurry when she encounters her neighbors on her way to work.  They stop her, ask about the family, and share their own stories without any sense that she might be in a rush.  But to her it is just plain rude to look at your watch and explain how you are going to be late.  So she's hangs in there hoping that the conversation will end with enough time for her to walk into the building before the bell....and sometimes it doesn't but oh well.  So the bigger question was: "Can punctuality be taught in a place where it's not very important?"  For me, I was raised to be earlier than on time but Spain has taken a small toll on me.  I'm often 5-10 minutes late these days and I write it off as nothing.  ¡No pasa nada! (until I'm back in NYC)

Finally, Andreas was able to visit me in Siles which turned out to be quite fun.  We went to the school's training restaurant, took a few hikes in the olive groves and pine forests, had tapas with the locals (and my colleagues), and participated in a mini-flamenco festival in my former host family's house.  Now we are heading to Barcelona together at the end of February and afterwards I'll spend some time in Jerez and hopefully in Cádiz for the big and famous festival, El Carnaval de Cádiz.  More pictures and stories to come! 

Holidays in Germany

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone is off to a good start.  Spain gives their students and teachers 18 days of vacation which I feel so lucky to have had.  There are some very nice Christmas celebrations and New Years traditions here that I missed unfortunately, however; I happily spent the holidays in Germany with my beloved family (and second home).  Now Andreas and I are both in Spain pursuing our little dream we stirred up sometime early last year.  At the moment we are living about six hours away from each other. He´s in Jerez and I am in Siles (still).  It's far but close enough to spend some weekends together from time to time.  And the Spanish language learning continues which has been very rewarding.  Today I met a landlord who has a cute little apartment for rent here in Siles.  I felt so comfortable communicating with him and even negotiating a lower price!  All I can say is language immersion works.  So the plan is for me to move into my own space from February until the end of May.  Though I will dearly miss being with my host family I think it's time for me to put on my big girl pants and face the real world.  I'm very eager and excited about the possibilities that having my own space will bring.  More to come on that.  For now I would like to share a few photos of where I was lucky to be for New Years.  I received a generous invitation from my mother-in-law, Gundi, to be with her and Andreas in the Swiss Alps.  It's a very special place for their whole family and it was a privilege to experience the nature there and hear all the stories of their wonderful memories.  Enjoy the photos!

here's the view looking up from the street onto the little village of Ferden...our place was somewhere off to the left.

we were very fortunate to have so much sun and its warmth.  despite all the snow it wasn't terribly cold so we decided to hike around near the ski resort on this day.  after the hike, andreas and i rode a wooden sled for about 30 minutes back home.  it was epic!

photo speaks for itself...i guess.  but this was our last day in Lötschental when we made our biggest hike together which was probably about 4 hours round trip.  the snow depth off the trail was hip deep.  pretty incredible!

last views with the shining sun before it set after only showing his face for about 4 1/2 hours.  unfortunately, this picture does not really capture the magic and beauty of the place.

group selfie with bitter sweet feelings about our last day together in the Alps. 

Well, getting back to life in Spain has been a little bit confusing because I felt like I spent my holidays in another world.  One thing is for sure, I'm going to cut back on the meat eating and partying.  What I would like to do with the rest of my time here, aside from speaking as much Spanish as possible, is travel to some other places in Spain including Jerez, Cadiz, and Sevilla (flamenco land), and perhaps some other parts of Spain in the north.  For sure I'll be in Mallorca with Gundi and Andreas for Easter and maybe in Barcelona for my birthday in February.  I realize this is a once and lifetime opportunity and I am completely aware that I must take full advantage of it.  More stories to come!   ¡Saludos a todos!

P.S. There is a student here who has a BIG wish to live in NYC for a month this summer to improve her English.  If you know anyone who is able to host her (ideally a family with children), please get in touch.  She is 16, quite fluent in English, and super eager to live out her dream.  Of course it would be fair to ask for a little rent money and possibly some Spanish lessons for the kids. 

algunos pensamientos

Hola amigos....

Month 2 1/2 now and there is one thing in particular I'm truly starting to miss.  It was after a very happy dream that I realized how much I miss the beautiful quilt of human skin colors of my home country.  To be different looking here is to really stand out.  Being mixed race and having a strong interest in this topic have offered me a few opportunities to talk about racial differences with the people here.  It all starts of course with having to explain that I'm not Chinese but this is not so difficult.  Recently I was a part of a class discussion about immigration in Spain and the students expressed their dislikes about Chinese people being in Spain.  I have also spoken with a professor of education in regards to 'teaching tolerance' to teachers who work in schools that serve students of Gypsy families.  There are students labeled Gypsies in the school and they are outcasted by their peers and in some cases (not at my school it seems) by teachers.  Like anyone including myself, when we don't know about people or types of people we default to stereotypes.  Some of those I have heard here include Korean is Chinese and Chinese people eat cockroaches (that was from today).  I have also heard that there is a Chinese mafia that will kill Spanish thieves with Samurai swords.  In addition, I was told that Gypsies are Spanish people and there is no need to address the issues of discrimination against them in schools.  "These people" are choosing to move backwards in time (with arranged teen marriages and unplanned pregnancies) and nothing can be done about it.  Lastly, Spain was awarded first prize in a marathon event and the winning contestant seemed to have African roots based on his appearance. "Very Spanish!" is what I heard a Spanish guy say sarcastically while the news was reporting the event.  

This all makes me wonder where we learn to be tolerant and the opposite to be racist.  I want to think that Americans today are very privileged to live in a society where one color or manner does not single you out as American or foreigner.  Whether this acceptance is conscious or not we cannot know of another way since our foundation is built on a "melting pot".  Maybe I'm living an illusion but I feel certain that someone from any race could win a prize for America and there wouldn't be much doubt to his/her nationality.  However despite the looks of the multi-racial nation of USA something is lacking that Spain surely is not.  There is a general sense of camaraderie that is definitely not felt in the states.  Through my fresh eyes it seems people trust one another more here and share a common sense of pride in the heritage of Spain.  For this, programs like Stop and Frisk, couldn't go very far since you can't single out a "criminal" based on his racial appearance.  You don't hear slang words for races different from your own.  Also there is no need to make a law against the use of the N-word.  (Remember this) Instead, you hear words like hombre, tia, tio (man, aunt, uncle) when young people are addressing their friends.  I'm sure everything is not as fluffy as it seems.  I know it's so natural for humans to discriminate against each other; it's just doesn´t seem to happen so much here.

And now for some photos....

you will hear them coming before you see them...this sheep herder passed by the back of my house the other day.  it was the sweet clanging of bells that prompted me to hurry and find my camera.  i did just in time!

this is tolerance for all in spain.  tv for the hard of hearing!

visiting a friend, monica, in granada, spain.  we met through andreas two years ago.  this was stop #2 in our walk to find good tapas and soak up some winter sun. 

cute wild kitties at stop #3

okay it's no bansky but this street art is worth a few props.

¡oh obama!

snow capped mountains of the sierra nevada.  this is the view from monica´s house in granada.  wow!

and the stunning sun sets behind the sierra nevada mountains on my last day before returning to siles.  what a nice farewell.