The title says it all so I don’t think it’s really necessary this week, but I feel obliged to write an introductory paragraph! It’s not a very original idea, but I’m going base this blog post on a picture from each day of the week. There’s been no big adventure for me this week, but hopefully documenting a minor adventure each day with a photo will make it more interesting!
Wednesday:
…nothing says “Happy Birthday” like some fried and salted pigs’ ears!
Wednesday was a friend’s 21st, and we went out for dinner to celebrate. The restaurant presented her with a free appetiser; orejas de cerdo, otherwise known as pigs’ ears! It’s a traditional pincho here but one that none of us had dared to try yet but they were surprisingly good! They taste a lot like pork scratchings with a slightly firmer texture. Shame we put off trying them for so long!
Thursday:
Pick flowers, not fights
On Thursday we completed a mural we’ve been making at school for Anti- Domestic Abuse day, which was on Monday. I think it looks pretty good, if I say so myself! The multi-coloured hearts now fill all of the white area, and they’re filled with the children’s thoughts on the subject. They wrote them in all of the three languages they study (Spanish, French and English), and whilst some of the notes in Spanish are quite deep and insightful, most of the French and English ideas are less developed thanks to their limited vocab. A favourite, for example: “If you hit me I cry.” Blunt, but fair!
Friday:
My ticket for los juegos del hambre (the Hunger Games)
I made my first trip to the cinema in Spain on Friday. It might seem a long time coming but I hadn’t bothered before because it’s quite expensive here (about 8 euros a ticket with no student discount or Orange Wednesdays!) and I didn’t really want to pay to be baffled! I was pleasantly surprised that I understood far more than I expected to …although googling the plot before may have helped!
Saturday:
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Saturday was miserable so I got some retail therapy to cheer myself up! This ever so manly looking present is for my brother …hope you’re excited! In my defence, I didn’t choose the colour scheme as it was gift wrapped by the lady in the shop …with disappointingly unfestive wrapping for the season.
I’m struggling with Christmas shopping this year because I’m limited in what I can bring back to England. Wine would be the obvious choice, considering where I am, but I only have a cabin bag and, for anyone who has been living under a rock in recent years, liquids aren’t allowed on planes. I’d like to support the town and buy all my other presents locally too but due to my situation it might have to be an internet job this year!
Sunday:
Sunday was the grand opening of the first window of my (very posh – thanks Mum and Dad!) advent calendar! I’m a self-confessed Christmaholic so, were Sundays not so dead here, it would still have got me excited! Finally December is here and I can indulge myself daily in a chocolate and listen to my favourites Last Christmas and Fairytale of New York on repeat. …Ok, I’ve been doing that for a while already,but now it’s guilt free!
Monday:
Yesterday was a long day so I felt I deserved a little pic-me-up! This is a Mont-Blanc; It’s filled with white-chocolate cream and has chocolate drizzled over the top …and is the doughnut dreams are made of!
Faux-Pas of the week:
Apologies, here comes the educational bit: In Spanish, some adjectives have different meanings depending on whether you use them with ser or estar, the two different verbs which mean “to be.”
Yesterday I was paid for the extra classes I give after school. “Ahora eres muy rico,” said the secretary (Now you are very rich). “Si,” I replied, “!Estoy muy rico, gracias!” (Yes, I am very delicious, thank you!) I corrected myself and we laughed about it but he was sure to wave the hand with his wedding ring on as he left!
Tuesday:
Wine O’clock is a much earlier O’Clock in Spain!
Today is one of the teachers’ birthdays and we’ve had a little party with wine and nibbles at morning break (aka well before 11am!) The Spaniards I know here live up to the stereotypes; they really do love their vino and their fiestas! We celebrate everyone’s birthday like this so, given that there are around 40 teachers, it happens almost every week. (That sounds too much like a complaint; there are absolutely none from me!) I used to find it strange eating rich food and drinking wine when I would usually still be on the tea and toast, but thankfully I haven’t had too much trouble adapting to this custom!
Hasta Martes!
Mads' ramblings from Europe 