Finding the "7 Wonders of Chiclana"

“Like A Rolling Stone” – Bob Dylan

Here’s a picture of the coffee servings I was talking about:

I have been living in Spain for over a MONTH! I still remember the first nights in my apartment here, I heard every single sound on the street and imagined the craziest things happening outside – of course, I couldn’t even fathom what they could be because here I was in a foreign country… now I know that around 11 pm that sound is the nightly garbage collection (Chiclana has 4 large bins at every block, reeeeeeeeeeeeally emphasizing recycling and I’m pretty sure one of those is just for wine bottles haha) on my street, around midnight the sound of a child laughing isn’t creepy – they just have different sleeping schedules here and it’s the norm (and quite frankly, some kids all around the world go to bed at dusk, some stay up ‘til 2 with their parents, to each their own),  around 4 am it’s the wind because there’s a storm stirring in the Strait of Gilbraltar and one of my 7 windows is probably open because you rarely have A/C here…

View of my town from the watchtower:

So now I have peace of mind & great sleep, usually pay with coins (oh euros…), and have a full tutoring schedule with kids wanting to improve their English past what they’ve learned in school. Sidenote: Bob Esponja is the COOLEST thing to have here at their age…I can’t get over my classes: 1^st graders’ discipline surprises me and they’re the most adorable children ever! Marisol, Begonia, Javier, Celia, Eloy, Bejamin, Roberto, Carlos, Martha – that doesn’t even cover the list because our rosters have such diversity. It’s so great having nearly complete fluent conversations with my bilingual sixth grade class or tutoring another great kid after school at her home where the parents provide heart-warming hospitality. 

The semi-vegetarian meal thing is still happening simply because every thing seriously tastes better here! Soy milk is creamier, raisins are sweeter, tomatoes are AMAZING, bread is always fresh out of a stone oven…I know you can find this back home but the experience is really adding to it all. Hence this basic recipe I saw on a friend’s blog, pretty much made my point:

“The mighty tortilla

What do you think of when you think of the national dish of Spain? I'm going to take a guess and say it probably features some form of paella and sangria right? Although paella is a well known dish, I hardly ever eat it. So what else is there? Well the cured jamon is always amazing and the cheeses are nothing to be sneezed at but there is something delicious and deceptively simple...la tortilla española. I would have to argue that it is one of Spain's national dishes.

Maybe you have heard of it, maybe you haven't. Well its delicious and mostly easy to make...I still have problems to dar la vuelta. However, it is one of the easiest Spanish dishes to make even if you aren't in Spain. Here's what you need:


1 kilo of potatoes
9 eggs
1 medium onion
A boatload of olive oil
Salt


Step 1: Peel and slice the potatoes. Dice the onion.


Step 2: Put the potatoes and onion in a frying pan and cook with copious amounts of oil. I'm not kidding about the olive oil its the secret to a good tortilla. If you think you have added enough, you should probably add more. Cook the potatos and onion until they are soft over medium heat. Remove from heat and drain the oil.


Step 3: Beat the eggs until they are well mixed. Then add the potatoes and onion to the eggs. Mix together and add salt to your taste. I usually put a pinch because an overly salty tortilla is awful.


Step 4: Reheat your frying pan and add 2 spoonfuls of olive oil. Make sure the pan is well coated. Add the egg, potato, onion mixture. Lower the heat and move the pan in circles so that the tortilla doesn't stick and moves. Cook until the mixture begins to solidify. I usually don't let it cook too long because I like my tortilla runny.


Step 5: This is the part that is the hardest--dar la vuelta or flipping the tortilla. Take a plate that is larger than the frying pan on top of the pan. Pick up the pan and flip the tortilla so that it lands on the plate. Then slide the tortilla back into the pan. Cook it for 2 or 3 more minutes moving the pan in circles.


Step 6: Flip the finished tortilla back onto a plate and enjoy! Its even better with a glass of Rioja wine. Que rico!”

The roommates and I are currently on a scavenger hunt with a list we found called “7 Wonders of Chiclana”. Well don’t hold your breathe haha because it’s mostly minor landmarks like plaques or views but truthfully the sights are stunning. It’s incredible to know we’re standing in history that had a domino effect on so many parts of the world. For instance, next time I’m in Seville we’ll go to Christopher Columbus’ tomb in the Cathedral (3rd largest in Spain).

I’ve rambled. As usual.

Things I can’t wait for:

-          Establishing Christmas plans…

-          Kristeen, Shea and Josiah visiting for New Year’s!!!

-          On that note, all the friends that want to visit haha

-          Try authentic paella: I know, it’s taking some easing into…sea creatures… and I’m conquering a long list along the way regardless J

-          Visit an olive tree orchard in Priego de Cordoba or Jaen

-          Seeing Snow Patrol in Ireland around the end of January *working on it*

-          Visiting as many countries as possible of course (figure this one’s still starry-eyed dreams and it’ll all become realistic as months pass by, it’s cheap, and I’m getting paid extra for A LOT of tutoring)

Last but not least, it’s convincing my Mom to come visit. Emphasis on convincing because the woman only speaks Spanish (yet conveniently understands English most days) and is hesitant to deal with the whole airport deal even though it’ll get easier as she gets closer to me…haha but she does get some credit for getting on a computer the other day and sending me her first email EVER. I’m pretty sure it must have rained (getting my first taste of that here this weekend according to the weather reports) somewhere when it happened. I certainly felt it here because I know it took a lot for her to do that and of course she went on about how much she’s praying for me. A mother’s incredible love. Enough said.

"You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach; because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you." - Frederick Buechner

smells like moscato wine in the mornings out there

“At Last” - cover by Jason Mraz

goodmorningandgoodnight.com

Oct 16th, 2011

“Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets.
So, love the people who treat you right and forget about the ones who don’t.
And believe that everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, take it; if it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said that it would be easy.
They just promised it would be worth it.”

Here in Spain, I wake up with no sense of time lately - it's the strangest thing. Regrets can't help but linger, love is on my mind often, and this chance I took is transforming my life. This first hand experience can tell you it's not easy...but it's worth every single moment after a small dilemma (i.e. "the power went out - WHAT do we do..", "I'm lost again and we have to use this paper map", "what kind of meat is listed on this foreign menu?") when you realize you can handle *almost* any situation if you just trust yourself and that annoying-but-oh-so-right gut instinct.

________________________________________________________________________________

The only time I went out this past weekend was to have a nice glass of red wine out on the beach here in Chiclana to watch the sunset and enjoy a dinner with my roommates. I simply finished a book the rest of the days and spent a lot of time catching up on emails. My brother’s been the bridge between the rest of my family and I with updates, so we exchanged at least six emails the past few days. I'm honestly surprised, our means of communication used to just be quick phone calls. We knew where we stood on things and that everything was okay. Now, he gives me detailed advice, writes to me Spanish (as if being in Spain wasn't enough) and tells me more about his life. My close friends know how much he means to me, like a dad with the age gap between us, but my love for him has reached a whole new level with the comforting words he sends me. I just really wanted to remind everyone to appreciate your family, their words of encouragement are like no other because they REALLY know you. This is the year I’m discovering more about myself and my brother’s supportive messages are with me along the way.

There’s a coffee shop around the corner from my apartment that makes great lattes for one euro. ONE. Everywhere I go, they serve it in a small glass, so I’m convinced this is to force foreigners to sit down and RELAX like the Spaniards. You can’t take it “to go”, you can’t ask for specific details (thank God no one here has to deal with “no foam” or 104 degree requests…shout out to baristas there ;) and you can’t complain because your server is long gone and won’t come back to check on you until you wave at them kindly to pay out.

I discovered all this after my Monday morning shopping at the farmer’s market. My roommate picked up a food magazine last week, with a quote inside that said, “We don’t have time for everything, but to eat well we MUST make space for this…and of course that means taking a break to enjoy cooking that great meal as well.”Well, I listened. This time I bought pesto for less than 2 euro, sweet potatoes & bells peppers to make a delicious hash that I tried at a friend’s in Cadiz, mysterious spices - imitation vanilla does not exist here so you can only buy the bean…darn, mystery fruit (I’m guessing it’s a pear’s cousin), and brown eggs. I hope my food consumption is forever marked by this lifestyle. Living in the moment: the farmer will only sell you what’s in season, the butcher can name the goat & region that creamy cheese came from and how to cook the cut of pork he chose for your dinner tonight, and the annoying lottery man on the way out of the market always tells you how beautiful you specifically look today. The best part of it all is that a month after moving to Spain, with so much time spent by myself, I feel at peace right now. It’s like every day another layer of stress falls off as my strength builds. For instance, physically I feel better than ever (thank you my daily 4 flights of stairs, 20 minute walk to school and afternoon run along the river), emotionally I still get struck by pangs of missing Texas but not in a depressing way (cue Emilee’s cd for my boots & I), and mentally I am learning so much daily! I’ve made it a daily habit to check New York Times (thank you Marybeth), MSNBC, Glamour (had to be girly), bible, and Wikipedia with the most random research. I haven’t traveled as much as I’d like to but it’s only October and Italy is 2 weeks away! I start making extra income this week with some English tutoring in the afternoons but I figure let’s get that first paycheck deposited THEN begin more adventures on the bus, train, plane…

On that note, I’m hoping to make it to Seville (again, orientation just doesn’t count) or Tarifa soon. Christmas needs to get planned as well…

Honestly, I still feel lost and found all at once so these next few days staying in town will really help get me grounded and more comfortable interacting with people. I’m still adjusting but everything around me is falling into place… my Spanish debit card arrived in the mail, the “green card” version of my Spanish residency will be ready mid-November, and dealing with euros is easy now!

Note to self: whale watching in Tarifa, they promised 7 kinds!

The past week has been yet another reality check; it’s bittersweet. Sometimes I miss my family & friends and it’s like “ummm…you’re at the beginning…and there’s facebook & emails” and sometimes I just want to live at the Mercado de Abastos (fresh fruit, fish, meat and spice market) where y’all can just come to me! My classes are going well, and if I ever considered teaching as a career well then I’m getting great exposure to all grade levels because I was assigned to 1^st-6^th graders. My tutoring gigs started up this week so we’ll see how THAT goes… This weekend was my first weekend out of town and what better way to kick off the trips than with Cadiz! We have some really great friends there already and the map wasn’t too hard to figure out…the actual map, no GPS within reach. I’m cooking with an oven (and mystery dials) every day, USING A MAP, walking everywhere (I miss driving my car so much but I have no desire to drive here because pedestrians are like Frogger), and researching more life directions. This weekend sparked an interest in freelance translating so we’ll see where that leads…

 i LOVE LOVE LOVE the oh-so-simple Spanish Tortilla (eggs, potatoes, olive oil)...

On Saturday morning, Jaclyn and I took a 30 minute bus out of Chiclana to visit our friends. The girls and I visited a tower with one of eight obscure cameras in the entire world, so our view of Cadiz was magnified and placed on a whole new level of understanding. We then had a beautiful vegetarian lunch made at home and walked to have tinto de verano (red wine mixed with a lemon-y drink) by the beach. As usual, there were a few photographers and brides embracing the stunning views. We ended up back at the girls’ piso that evening for another incredible dinner that I can’t even describe (at a loss for word at how many fresh ingredients can go into any meal and on that note, the variety of it! Sweet potato hash with assorted roasted peppers: YES) and a night out on the town. A “botellon” is the word for drinking out on the streets and that is everywhere you turn…and there is no set curfew for it all. Some bars close at 3 am, other open at that hour and it’s perfectly normal for someone to go home at 7 am from their night. Julia and I made it to 5 am but the majority of that was spent walking the alleys and talking to friends we ran into. It wasn’t a wild night and I certainly don’t expect to have any of those here but it added to the experience and I felt safe.

In the midst of it all, we booked a trip to Italy this past weekend! We fly into Milan on October 29^th and fly out of Rome on November 2^nd, so thanks to Spain’s holidays...no school…a dream is seriously being fulfilled here!!! I just didn’t expect it to be the first thing off the list J!!!

We spent Sunday morning searching for “churros con chocolate” which are essentially fried dough with thick chocolate sauce but to no avail so we settled for a French bistro (breakfast is usually just toast with olive oil and fresh tomato puree paired with a café con leche, alongside variations of adding meat to your dish or zumo which is unbelievably fresh fruit juice) and let the coma kick in for the rest of the day…and caught up on Glee episodes.

I’m currently enjoying my Monday, since school is Tuesdays-Friday. This morning I picked up groceries in the Mercado with the adorable strawberry bag Mandy got me, stocked up on Andalucia’s spices and a steak to continue these culinary adventures, and am now starting to prepare for my first tutoring lesson tomorrow at 4 pm.

Iberico, it's an Andalucia thing

The view from our rooftop (no time to flip the picture, whatever!)

 It has been a week since the search began for our perfect “piso” a.k.a. apartment here in Chiclana de la Frontera, about 30 minutes outside of Cadiz, with my fellow CIEE participants and now roommates: Jaclyn & Abbie. One’s from Philly, one’s from LA, and one’s from Texas J perfect mix, the stories never end! On that note, here’s a fun fact: this job has been available since 1930, the schools request bilingual teachers and it’s funded by income tax. In 2011 there are 100 French teachers, 40 Germans, 300 from the US for this program in Spain. Classes will consist of students mostly from all over Europe.  I can now truly appreciate the 5 star hotel this program had me in a few days ago, because now I miss the breakfast buffet, long hot showers, and stroll past the police station (*we’re convinced all law enforcement is screened for attractive features…) Nothing beats what I’m experiencing now though: my own place in Spain. It took about a week and a half to have it really sink in that I’m REALLY here by the way, it was always a stunned moment where something caught my eye like the view down an alley that had the ocean view at the end in Cadiz or sound of bells coming from the Cathedral that seemed to calm the crowd for just a minute – until it passed and Castellano filled the air again. Now, it doesn’t phase me. It’s another level: I’m soaking in every single moment. For instance, today I actually shopped at DIA, the local fresh food market, rather than just stare in disbelief as I had only seen in on the Travel Channel with my mom the week before I left Texas at the Houston hotel. The girls and I have now lit the gas to start water in our shower, hung our clothes out to dry, tried to mess around with the stove and finally enjoyed an entire bottle of red wine (2 euro) with a loaf of fresh HOT bread and chorizo slices.

I LOVE CHORIZO!

 The pictures don’t do it justice with the food, it feels like a very organic lifestyle here without the expensive costs in the United States. I’ve definitely had my share of incredible tapas here (umm that’s the name for every meal during our adjustment, we can’t help stopping by the shops to sample their specialty), such as patatas alineadas which are scalloped potatoes with olive oil and sometimes tuna, pinchos a.k.a. kebabs with the best mystery seasonings, choco – a sneaky word used to get me to eat what looks like an innocent little baby octopus. However, the newfound favorite place of the week is Café Bar La Vega: an Argentinean family owns it…Santi gets his coffee beans from Portugal (AMAZING CAFÉ CON LECHE!), the dad gives you a warm smile every time like he knew you’d be back, and the mom insists you tell her your favorite food so that she can make something with her touch on it. She can make me anything at this point, carne al toro is this slightly spicy beef stew, arroz con pollo – enough said, and more. Argentineans have been a good thing to have in my life so far J shout out to my cappuccino lovebirds back home in Corpus!

There is gelato everywhere, I’m trying not to have it but it costs 1 euro in most places and they are strict with seasonal items here so when there’s melon gelato…we have to try it. It was down the street last night and a group of girls about the age of 10 ran in excitedly, ordered a large cup to share and raved about the flavors to the attendant. The one turned to us and said “this is very good…you must try that one…okay goodbye!” SO. CUTE. That could be one of our students! My school is aout a 20 minute walk I’ll be making Tuesday-Friday but more on that later… The melon I’m obsessed with right now is like a hybrid of cucumber, honeydew and pineapple. Next stop: strawberry fields in Huelva next spring. I’m rambling about food naturally, but it helps that all the locals are willing you tell you endless stories and answer any of your questions. It’s a smack in the face when my typically extroverted self hesitates because I don’t remember how to use the vosotros form sometimes…

Jackie and I stopped by a bodega – wine… now I can’t stop noticing the smell in the air of moscato around the corner. Then we all went to Playa La Barrosa today and the view was breath taking. As for the water, well I’ve seen better ;) but I have some best friends to thank for that. There is a castle on an island within view that I need to look into and the shore goes for miles! A storm in the strait of Gilbraltar is causing intense gusts of wind right now, hence my so-so impression of the beach.

Overall, I’ve gathered so far that the Spaniards are dead serious about siestas (shutting down everything from about 2-5 pm), I’m actually going to read all my books, I want Internet at home already but we need to set up our local bank accounts on Monday first, the 68 steps up to my apartment floor (worth the view on our rooftop…) are like an at-home gym, and I’m experiencing a whole new level of independence here.

It’s cliché – I miss my mom, mostly because I’m now realizing how much more I could have easily called her when I was home. We have a great relationship, my whole family of course, but it’s just funny how it hits you once you’re an ocean apart. Cody is kind of a perfect boyfriend, it’s cheesy but true. I also realize more and more how thoughtful my friends are, as if they could set the bar any higher! Overall, I’m just truly grateful for my support system. I’m picking up thumbtacks tomorrow to hang the good luck poster from CW; I’m so proud to see that my Coffee Waves family had its grand opening this past week. That’s all from me for now, love y’all.