snapshot from Toledo, Spain

Holy Cathedral of Toledo

This last week, our dear friends Patrick and Emma earned the dubious distinction of being our first visitors from home. I say "earned" and "dubious" because the trip may have been much more enjoyable for Steve and me than it was for them; let's just say that we're still working out the kinks of being tour guides. (Sorry again about that 2.5 hour commute from Alcalá scenic tour of Madrid's outskirts.)

It was wonderful to see Patrick and Emma and spend quality time with them; since they live on the East Coast, we typically see them only once or twice a year. Selfishly, it was also a great opportunity for us to reflect on what we love most about Madrid and to share those things with our friends. Some of those things--leisurely meals eaten al fresco, wandering the picturesque cobblestone streets, chocolate and churros at Chocolateria San Ginés--translated pretty well. However, I think my favorite memories from this past week will be the stranger adventures we shared: buying almond cookies from cloistered nuns and meeting a nice couple from good ol' Bellevue, WA in the convent; exploring the medieval hilltop town of Toledo; and eating approximately 23940283 lbs of grilled meat at the one of the largest medieval faire(e) slash Miguel de Cervantes celebrations (Semana Cervantina) in Europe.

Thanks for visiting, Patrick and Emma!

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10/13/2014 0

weekly round-up

These are some things I've read/watched/shopped on the internet recently. Enjoy (or not)!

- Why Spanish time culture is so strange (spoiler: you can blame Franco)

- Emma Watson on gender equality and being a feminist (get on board, kids)

- This Hong Kong student started a pro-democracy movement at 15--what have you done lately?

- I was fascinated by this portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy, in the aftermath of JFK's assasination

- Are you familiar with COS? It's a Swedish label with the same parent company as H&M and it is SO GOOD. I recently visited their store in Salamanca and literally wanted to buy everything. EVERYTHING.

- Can we talk about Amal Alamuddin? Her academic and professional accomplishments: so impressive. Her arm candy: not terrible. Her hair/makeup/fashion game: always on point. I'd like to be like her when I grow up, please and thank you.

I mean, are you kidding? This is the photo that appears when you look up "glamorous" in the dictionary. Photo Source. 

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9/30/2014 1

writing is hard

I've literally been working on my Málaga posts for the last two weeks and haven't made much progress. (This may speak more to my blog-related work ethic than anything else.) In lieu of a substantive post, I offer a GIF recap of some of last week's events:

Community, anyone?

- I'm working with a select group of 3rd ESOs (freshmen) in Global Classrooms, which you may know better as Model U.N. It's an optional class and as you may imagine, is comprised exclusively of baby policy wonks. I love them so much. Last week, I had the students vote on which Millenium Development Goal they find the most important. The top three vote getters were eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; reduce child mortality; and promote gender equality and empower women. Each "U.N. sub-committee" had to quickly write and deliver a presentation to the rest of the class, articulating the critical importance of the goal and offering potential solutions to the crisis. We ended the class with a (barely) moderated debate regarding how our hypothetical funds should be allocated amongst the three issues. You guys, they did such a good job. I think this would've been a challenging exercise for most American adults, much less for a bunch of 14 year old Spaniards whose first language is definitely not English. The kids were thoughtful and intelligent and I was basically like this the whole time:

- In less fortunate news, my sleep patterns are still super wonky, which means that I'm like this on a daily basis:

I

- I thought I was pretty lucky because I was one of the first profesores colaboradores de Washington to get a set class schedule; as it turns out, my schedule has changed every week thus far so oops, not that lucky. (I am completely okay with this arrangement, since I'm still working 12-15 hour weeks.) On Friday, I showed up to the science class I was supposed to be co-teaching and found...well, nothing, because they'd changed the classroom number and forgot to tell me. When I finally found the right classroom, it was like--well, I couldn't find a good gif for this, but remember that massive school-wide fight in Mean Girls? Yeah, picture that. Students were jumping over and under desks, making out in corners, and yelling across the room to each other, all while the teacher was trying to lecture. At one point, three full rows of students all squished themselves into a corner of the room so they could take a selfie. It was, in a word, mayhem. 

After the class, I had a nice chat with the teacher, who's this cute half-Spanish half-Serbian young hipster dude. (We had that chat in Chinese, by the way, because NBD, he speaks it fluently.) He casually asked me whether I spoke Spanish and when I responded "un poquito," he said "great, let's go see la directora and talk about your schedule," and towed me directly to her office. What followed was perhaps the most awkward half hour of my life--I literally sat between the teacher and the school's principal, while they had an increasingly bellicose conversation (in Spanish) regarding whether I should (her) or should not (him) co-teach the science class. I understood approximately 25% of what was going on, but trust me when I say it was so hella awkward.

Oh, Spain. Cheers to you and all your craziness.

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9/29/2014 1

snapshot from el Rastro de Madrid

Madrid's famous open air flea market, El Rastro, takes place every Sunday just south of the La Latina metro station. It's like every street fair/flea market/antique store you've ever visited, but bigger. Much, much, much, much bigger. One might even call it enormous. El Rastro is a dream for people who like hunting for miscellania and a nightmare for people who don't like skin to skin contact with randoms, so I felt pretty conflicted about the whole thing. 

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9/23/2014 0

back to school

So, funny story. Instead of being an auxiliar de conversación at an elementary school, I'm actually co-teaching freshman English and social studies at a bilingual high school. You may wonder when I had time to acquire teaching credentials between college and law school and life and work; the answer to that would be never. Despite my telling them repeatedly about my lack of qualifications (at increasingly panicked decibels), the ministry of education was decidedly no pasa nada about the whole thing and sent me on my merry way.

Despite my initial trepidation, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic (we're just a few days into the school year so this may change). I'm still concerned that I'll ruin these children's future by educating them poorly, but I guess if the ministry of education isn't concerned, I shouldn't be either? On the plus side, the students are awesome--they're funny, smart, and seem excited to learn. Freshmen are also very wee and adorable. They still look like little kids!

Yes, I blurred out the name of the school.

My students have been giving two minute presentations about themselves all week and their verbal skills are quite good, across the board. This is what I've learned so far this week:

- Don't mention fútbol. I made the mistake of asking whether I should root for Atlético or Real Madrid and basically incited a riot. 

- Boys everywhere love Call of Duty. (They pronounce it "cowl" and it's adorable.)

- Justin Bieber is still popular, as is One Direction. There's also something called "5 Seconds of Summer"? Google says that they're an Australian pop-punk band. They appear to have a penchant for sticking out their tongues in photos, so I can only assume that they consider themselves very punk indeed. 

I can't wait to hear what else they have to say!

Ah, the sweet sound of silence.

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9/18/2014 1

¿dónde puedo encontrar un secador de pelo?

This is the tale of one woman's epic quest for a hairdryer.

My quest began on our second day in Madrid. Believe it or not, I'm actually pretty low maintenance (at least when it comes to my hair and beauty routine). Since my requirements for a hairdryer begin and end with "blows warm and/or cool air," I decided to buy a super cheap hairdryer when we arrived in the city rather than packing one from home. We (obviously I dragged poor Steve along with) ran into a challenge immediately. You see, dear reader, I made the rookie mistake of assuming that Madrid would have American-style drugstores that sell everything from laundry detergent to office supplies to yes, hairdryers. Spoiler: drugstores are not a thing here. I am an idiot. 

Instead, Madrid has single purpose stores. Need makeup? Head to the perfumeria. Aspirin? Try the farmácia. It actually makes for a very charming shopping experience, visiting each speciality emporium for exactly what you need. Unfortunately, after wandering in and out of every store known to man in an effort to find a hairdryer, any hairdryer, I didn't feeling nearly as charmed.

Feeling desperate, I caved and paid a visit to El Corte Ingles' main branch in Sol.

3 of the 8,000 El Corte Ingles locations in Sol.

El Corte Ingles is a massive department store, like some unholy offspring of Walmart and Macys. Its major selling point is that it carries basically everything ever made in the history of time. Its major downside is that it is poorly merchandized. Its second most major downside is that the main branch in Sol is comprised of approximately 234902938402 separate buildings, which makes it well nigh impossible to find what you're looking for. We went to--and I am not exaggerating for effect here--six different El Corte Ingleses (El Cortes Ingles? I have no idea how to pluralize this) within a four block radius before we found the appropriate department. SIX! Did I mention that all six of these stores had four stories or more?

After all that effort, we finally located the correct El Corte Ingles and I bought my much longed-for hairdryer at last.

...only to have it literally explode a day later.

Sigh. Life is hard.

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9/17/2014 0

Spanish breakfast at La Recova and a Michelin conundrum

One of the many characteristics Ernest Hemingway and I share is our love of Spanish food.* The hallmark of Spanish food (she said with authority, having lived in Madrid for all of 3 weeks) is high quality ingredients prepared simply, letting natural flavors shine. Take the basic Spanish breakfast as an example. The Spanish eat a small breakfast, typically comprised of cafe con leche, some carb-laden delight (toasted baguettes or sweet rolls), with your spread of choice (tomatoes/olive oil/marmalade/butter). It's just enough food to stave off the hangries slash soak up the previous night's excesses.

We wandered into La Recova on our second day in Málaga, with that very mission in mind. (It's important to fuel up before a taxing day at the beach.) We picked La Recova based on its proximity to our flat, but it's actually a very cool little store that sells locally made, artisanal goods. It also serves, hands down, the best breakfast we've had in Spain. All of the traditional elements were there--the cafe, fresh local tomatoes, toasted baguette, sweet Muscat grapes, and olive oil. What set this breakfast apart was the enormously delicious array of spreads. 

Starting from the top and going clockwise, there were stewed apples, sweet orange paste (which, upon further reflection, may have been papaya), chorizo, what can only be described as "drippings" (savory meat bits in grease), and pork confit in a pimento (??) sauce. I know--remind me never to pursue a career as a food writer. These are the worst descriptions ever and the blurry iPhone photo isn't helping. You'll just have to trust me when I tell you that it was all SUPER DELICIOUS and we kept discussing its deliciousness throughout the day. Check it out, if you ever find yourself in Málaga.

Earthenware jugs of Moscatel (a sweet wine native to Málaga) and the front of La Recova

In semi-related news, did you know that there are 9 Michelin-starred restaurants in Madrid? (Do you know how many Michelin stars there are in Seattle? ZERO.) I desperately want to try all of them. However, for the price of a meal at Diverxo, I could have a three day trip to Prague. It's okay if you don't feel bad for me and my first world problems, but I would love to hear your thoughts on this conundrum.

xo,
Jess

*Sorry, I lied. Well, it's true that I love Spanish food and by all accounts, Hemingway did too. Aside from that, I don't think we have too much more in common. Actually, I have a lot of objections to his particular brand of hyper-masculinity. You know, let me just retract that whole statement.

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9/16/2014 0

snapshot from Málaga, Spain

We took a whirlwind trip to Málaga, on Spain's famed Costa del Sol this weekend with some friends and it was excellent. More later.

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9/14/2014 3

pretty

Madrid is not a city known for its architectural marvels; even its most notable landmarks are a bit ho-hum when stacked against those of other European cities--one city guide I read referred to Almudeña Cathedral as "not particularly inspiring." Cold burn. However, there are a lot of delightful moments in the winding streets of Madrid de los Austrias, the old center of the city named after the homeland of the Habsburg ruling family. (As a total aside, I spent a very enjoyable afternoon at the Prado exclaiming "Habsburg jaw!" every time I saw a painting of that family's most notable characteristic. Oh, inbreeding. Steve was unimpressed, as you might imagine.)

Anyway, I've been delighted by the array of colorful and interestingly carved front doors in this city:

I also love the sherbet colored buildings and the contrast against the blue, blue skies here. It isn't a terrible place to spend a year.

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9/08/2014 4

loss

I burst into tears in the middle of Principe Pio train station today. It isn't the first time I've had a spontaneous crying jag since we've gotten to Madrid--I've had a lot of them, to be honest, with provocations ranging from the banal (inability to find a public drinking fountain) to the extra trivial (inability to find a hairdryer). Anyone who says it's easy to move halfway across the world is full of lies.

Today in the train station though, I started crying because I woke up to the news this morning that a dear colleague and friend had been killed in an accident in Seattle.  I met Sher about a year and a half ago; we worked together closely on on a particularly horrid challenging project. By "closely," I mean we were on the phone with each other at least a dozen times a day, and must have exchanged thousands of emails over a few short months. You know, bonding through adversity and all that. The work sucked, but she was a gem--quick and bright in every sense of the word and generous of spirit. (We may have spent more time laughing than working, come to think of it.) Sher was so full of life and I don't think I ever saw her sit still for more than a few seconds at a time.

After the project ended, we kept saying that we should have dinner together with our spouses, but life got busy and we never got around to it. Even so, we would regularly pop into others' offices and have a quick chat before going about the rest of the day. A couple of weeks ago, Steve and I hung out with Sher, her fiancee, and their adorable baby girl at the zoo. I'm trying to keep that memory at the forefront of my mind--of how happy she and her family looked.

I don't know. I'm not particularly articulate and I certainly have nothing new to offer in a conversation about loss. I guess I'm just trying to process my own grief by writing this and putting it out on the internet for all to read.  And whatever I feel must be but a pale shadow of what her fiancee and family are experiencing. What really breaks my heart is knowing that her beautiful baby will never know first-hand what an amazing woman her mother was and how much she loved her.

Anyway. I am sad for me, but much more so for Sher's loved ones.

I'm grateful to be alive and to spend each day with this guy, in Seattle, Madrid, and everywhere else.

That is all.

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8/31/2014 2

hola, Madrid

Good news, everyone. Steve and I have survived our first 36 hours in Madrid. We're well on our way to a very successful year. Though we've only been here for a brief time, I've already learned some important lessons:

Adorable, despite my questionable photography skills.

+ Madrid is beautiful. It's full of color--the buildings are all painted in vivid shades and the sky is brilliantly blue. I can't wait to explore more of the city!

+ Spanish ladies love los pantalones de Hammer. (I don't think they're actually called that, but they're everywhere and amazing. Don't be surprised if I come home with a collection.)

+ Not to throw Steve under the bus, but it's a good idea to not lose your wallet within an hour of arriving in Madrid. #protip

+ We've been able to navigate the city, order food, and check out apartments using our rudimentary at best Spanish skills; I am 92% sure we haven't accidentally purchased a giant trampoline and/or offended anyone, so wins all around.

While we look for an apartment, we're staying at a hostel in La Latina, one of the oldest areas of Madrid. La Latina was the original walled site of Madrid during the Middle Ages, but these days, it's best known for its tapas scene on two neighboring streets, Cava Alta and Cava Baja. It's full of (highly illogically laid out but) charmingly curvaceous cobblestone streets; candy colored buildings; wrought iron balconies spilling over with flora and laundry; and plazas and historical churches. 

I love it here and we're hoping to find an apartment in this neighborhood. Speaking of--we're off to check out another apartment! 

Love,

Jess

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8/27/2014 3

Madrid, moving, music

Steve and I are moving to Spain in 8 days. I know, it's crazy. Let's cover some basics:

I'm pretty sure we can afford to live here. Photo

Where are you going, again?

Madrid, Spain, home of tapas, bullfights, Real Madrid, and the best-dressed royal in the world (sorry, Katie Cambridge).

When are you leaving?

Monday, August 25th.

But why?

Steve completed his Master of Teaching degree at the UW this past spring and was offered the opportunity to teach for a year at a high school in Madrid. Obviously, the answer was "yes please and thank you."

So are you just going to eat tapas and take siestas for a year, you hobo?

No, I found a job, thank you very much. Actually, to be more accurate, a job fell into my lap. I'll be in an elementary school for 16 hours a week, working as a language and cultural assistant. I will be eating tapas and taking siestas during all other hours.

How is the whole packing and moving process going?

Packing and moving is the worst. I am slowly losing my mind.

Okay then. Will you miss me?

Yes, yes I will. Come visit!

What should I listen to while you're gone?

I'm glad you asked! I've had three lady singers on repeat this summer and if you're interested in delighting your auditory senses, you should listen to them too.

Jessie Ware--try Wildest Moments from her last album. This is her latest single and it's fantastic:

Also check out Banks. I could listen to Waiting Game on repeat all day long. She also did a great acoustic cover of one my all time favorite songs:

Not to be the asshole who likes pointing out that she liked something before it was popular, but I totally liked Sia before she was a thing. Listen to Some People Have Real Problems and We Are Born and pretend you did too.

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8/16/2014 0