...pictures of us USAC students!
Last night in Basque cooking the two USAC supervisors took many, MANY pictures. It was unbelievable how many pictures they were taking. We were in the kitchen an hour and a half doing the same thing over and over, but they would just take a bajillion pictures of us doing the same thing.
"oh, here are some students cutting stuff"
"oh, here are some students cutting stuff!"
"here are some more students cutting things."
"here are some students eating things"
"wait, here are some more students eating things!"
"Oh, more students eating things!"
And then they just go ahead and post them online!
Well, I am sure you all would like to see them.
Go here:
http://www.gastronomica.com/
Click on "Eventos"
Then, under Curso Cocina USAC, scroll to where it says "ver mas" aka "see more" and it will show you some more pictures.
To see even MORE pictures, click the part that says "Galeria de fotos" I will let you assume what that means.
ENJOY!
PS, that website is in Spanish, so if you can read it, enjoy! If not...it says some pretty simple stuff. Like, "here are some American people cooking stuff."
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Cute!
This weekend I am going to Barcelona with Ana and Natalia and their friend Raquel.
For research, I was looking in my Spain guide that Barb and Emily got me. One of the places to go was this little cafe and bakery. I went to the website and this is what I found...
That candle is on a cake. A cake the size of a ring! It says it's a wedding anniversary cake. ADORBS!
That flower on the left? That's a ring too. MADE OF CANDY!
The Spain book says this is a great place to go for the "Art Nouveau fittings" that can only be enjoyed while having a cup of coffee or hot cocoa. I hope this place isn't too expensive because I DEFINITELY wanna go there.
It also says to try the "ensaimadas" because they are irresistable. We shall see.
OH! I am looking at this site and they have chocolate postcards! And CD's! And money! And a little tree that looks like it's made out of icicles but it is caramel!
Who cares about the cathedrals and plazas when you could see THIS?!
They make exploding cakes. Real useful.
Explore.
http://www.escriba.es/
For research, I was looking in my Spain guide that Barb and Emily got me. One of the places to go was this little cafe and bakery. I went to the website and this is what I found...
That candle is on a cake. A cake the size of a ring! It says it's a wedding anniversary cake. ADORBS!
That flower on the left? That's a ring too. MADE OF CANDY!
The Spain book says this is a great place to go for the "Art Nouveau fittings" that can only be enjoyed while having a cup of coffee or hot cocoa. I hope this place isn't too expensive because I DEFINITELY wanna go there.
It also says to try the "ensaimadas" because they are irresistable. We shall see.
OH! I am looking at this site and they have chocolate postcards! And CD's! And money! And a little tree that looks like it's made out of icicles but it is caramel!
Who cares about the cathedrals and plazas when you could see THIS?!
They make exploding cakes. Real useful.
Explore.
http://www.escriba.es/
Monday, February 9, 2009
Ick.
Whenever the parents smoke, they smoke in the kitchen with the door closed. Occasionally, when they open the door to the kitchen and shut it, this tobacco-ridden pocket of air occassionally drifts into my room and I get a whiff of the Marlboro man.
It's easy to avoid, however, if I just shut my door.
Sometimes they burn incense in the kitchen to "clear up" the smell.
Therefore, I have to ask myself...
Which is worse:
smelling thick cigarette smoke,
or smelling smoke from burning incense?
Or, should I add a third: dealing with the irrationality of covering the smell of burning with...the smell of burning?
It's easy to avoid, however, if I just shut my door.
Sometimes they burn incense in the kitchen to "clear up" the smell.
Therefore, I have to ask myself...
Which is worse:
smelling thick cigarette smoke,
or smelling smoke from burning incense?
Or, should I add a third: dealing with the irrationality of covering the smell of burning with...the smell of burning?
Figures.
Why could it not have been 22 degrees Celcius EARLIER when it was actually daytime and I was out?
PS, this is four degrees celcius warmer than my host home, but that isn't too hard when the thermostat is set at 62 degrees F.
PS, this is four degrees celcius warmer than my host home, but that isn't too hard when the thermostat is set at 62 degrees F.
A different perspective...
Today my host family had Francis's brother over for dinner.
He knew some English and practiced it a bit with me, but some of his stuff he was completely wrong with, like he said "I am Andrea's uncle, his favorite uncle. He is my daughter." There was some gender confusion, as well as words used for family members. When I said I was from Chicago, he was like "oh, sweetie sweet Chicago!" I gently corrected him saying it was "sweet home chicago." He switched back and forth between English and Spanish during dinner, mostly sticking with Spanish.
He also was talking about smoking, and I am not sure if everything he said was true, but he claimed Europeans die more of old age and other things than lung cancer, and Americans die more of lung cancer. He said it was odd because Europeans clearly smoke more. He claimed the reason for Americans dying of cancer so much is because people in America smoke anxiously, since they aren't allowed to smoke anywhere.
I told him bars and restaurants in many states and cities ban smoking indoors, and many buildings have a no smoking perimeter around them, including the dorms at universities. He said that people then smoke and inhale quickly before they go to work or on their breaks or whatever, and it is more dangerous, whereas here in Europe people chill out, have a cup of coffee for an hour and a cigarette and enjoy the fresh air, etc etc.
I didn't argue against him, but wouldn't a European and American be inhaling the same, if the European is inhaling one cigarette in an hour and the American inhales one cigarette, just in a five minute period instead? In the course of one hour, they both inhale the same amount of smoke, right?
I still think Europeans smoke more, and are exposed to it more since it is EVERYWHERE, even if you don't smoke.
He also was under the impression that people can't smoke in public at all. HAH! Please walk 10 feet outside of my dorm, buddy, and you shall see tobacco monkeys with clouds around them much like Pigpen from Charlie Brown.
He also referred to America as "Yankeelandia" aka Yankee country/land. I was amused by this.
He knew some English and practiced it a bit with me, but some of his stuff he was completely wrong with, like he said "I am Andrea's uncle, his favorite uncle. He is my daughter." There was some gender confusion, as well as words used for family members. When I said I was from Chicago, he was like "oh, sweetie sweet Chicago!" I gently corrected him saying it was "sweet home chicago." He switched back and forth between English and Spanish during dinner, mostly sticking with Spanish.
He also was talking about smoking, and I am not sure if everything he said was true, but he claimed Europeans die more of old age and other things than lung cancer, and Americans die more of lung cancer. He said it was odd because Europeans clearly smoke more. He claimed the reason for Americans dying of cancer so much is because people in America smoke anxiously, since they aren't allowed to smoke anywhere.
I told him bars and restaurants in many states and cities ban smoking indoors, and many buildings have a no smoking perimeter around them, including the dorms at universities. He said that people then smoke and inhale quickly before they go to work or on their breaks or whatever, and it is more dangerous, whereas here in Europe people chill out, have a cup of coffee for an hour and a cigarette and enjoy the fresh air, etc etc.
I didn't argue against him, but wouldn't a European and American be inhaling the same, if the European is inhaling one cigarette in an hour and the American inhales one cigarette, just in a five minute period instead? In the course of one hour, they both inhale the same amount of smoke, right?
I still think Europeans smoke more, and are exposed to it more since it is EVERYWHERE, even if you don't smoke.
He also was under the impression that people can't smoke in public at all. HAH! Please walk 10 feet outside of my dorm, buddy, and you shall see tobacco monkeys with clouds around them much like Pigpen from Charlie Brown.
He also referred to America as "Yankeelandia" aka Yankee country/land. I was amused by this.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Panqueques?
Yesterday my host mom went shopping, and last night at dinner she told me she bought "crema de cacahuete" (Peanut Butter), and Pancake mix.
Because PB is such an American thing, they think we all LOVE it. I like PB, but I can survive without it. It's nice to have it now, though, because I can have some PB and marmalade sandwiches.
It's very hard to come by around here; I hear the only place you can get it is the random Chinese hodge podge shops, and they are the mini jars (2 inches high) for about 6 euros (8 or 9 american dollars). But it's nice to think that she went to the store and got this with me in mind, it was very nice.
And like I said, she also bought pancake batter, and I was just about to ask her if they eat them here with maple syrup (another rarity), when she asked me how they are served. I don't think anyone really eats pancakes here...another foreign thing to them. I told her they are usually served with sweet things. I didn't know the word for blueberries, so I told her strawberries (fresas) and powdered sugar (azucar polvado?) were popular. I also said that some people make really rich ones with chocolate chips. I said bacon and eggs are usually served on the side as well. Like I said, maple syrup doesn't really exist here, so I didn't know the word for that, so I just said it in English. Angela's roommate, who is from here, said she found some maple syrup at the organic store down the street. I really want to get some (I am dying here not having anything to put in my oatmeal!), but I have a feeling that if it is organic AND imported, it's gonna be like 20 euros a bottle or something.
So that is what my host family is doing in the kitchen now. I don't even know if they know how to cook pancakes, ie, when to flip them and when they are too raw or to burnt. We shall see!!!
Because PB is such an American thing, they think we all LOVE it. I like PB, but I can survive without it. It's nice to have it now, though, because I can have some PB and marmalade sandwiches.
It's very hard to come by around here; I hear the only place you can get it is the random Chinese hodge podge shops, and they are the mini jars (2 inches high) for about 6 euros (8 or 9 american dollars). But it's nice to think that she went to the store and got this with me in mind, it was very nice.
And like I said, she also bought pancake batter, and I was just about to ask her if they eat them here with maple syrup (another rarity), when she asked me how they are served. I don't think anyone really eats pancakes here...another foreign thing to them. I told her they are usually served with sweet things. I didn't know the word for blueberries, so I told her strawberries (fresas) and powdered sugar (azucar polvado?) were popular. I also said that some people make really rich ones with chocolate chips. I said bacon and eggs are usually served on the side as well. Like I said, maple syrup doesn't really exist here, so I didn't know the word for that, so I just said it in English. Angela's roommate, who is from here, said she found some maple syrup at the organic store down the street. I really want to get some (I am dying here not having anything to put in my oatmeal!), but I have a feeling that if it is organic AND imported, it's gonna be like 20 euros a bottle or something.
So that is what my host family is doing in the kitchen now. I don't even know if they know how to cook pancakes, ie, when to flip them and when they are too raw or to burnt. We shall see!!!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
What?
Today, while walking back from class, I saw a naked man riding a bike.
Megan said "There's the naked man on the bike! I've seen him before!"
From far away, you could tell he was...naked. Therefore, I looked away when he got closer.
After he passed, Natalia was like "EWW I JUST SAW HIS PENIS!"
I guess she didn't understand the concept of "naked."
So yes, this was interesting. I didn't have my camera, but I am not sure I would have wanted it anyways...I don't want to scar you all for life.
Apparently indecent exposure isn't an issue here.
And the 50 year old man was just going about his business. Out for a nice bike ride. Feelin' the wind...everywhere. To me, it seems like it would just be uncomfortable in so many ways.
We also saw him riding the reverse direction about 15 minutes later.
Oh, and NO, he was NOT wearing a helmet.
Megan said "There's the naked man on the bike! I've seen him before!"
From far away, you could tell he was...naked. Therefore, I looked away when he got closer.
After he passed, Natalia was like "EWW I JUST SAW HIS PENIS!"
I guess she didn't understand the concept of "naked."
So yes, this was interesting. I didn't have my camera, but I am not sure I would have wanted it anyways...I don't want to scar you all for life.
Apparently indecent exposure isn't an issue here.
And the 50 year old man was just going about his business. Out for a nice bike ride. Feelin' the wind...everywhere. To me, it seems like it would just be uncomfortable in so many ways.
We also saw him riding the reverse direction about 15 minutes later.
Oh, and NO, he was NOT wearing a helmet.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Today is a Good Day
Today when I woke up, I somehow felt like death (maybe it was the semi-cold I have? Or maybe the fact that I went to bed at 3am...and had to wake up at 9:30?) But, I think the day really turned around when I stepped out of the house this morning.
- As I crossed the street to catch the bus to class, it was just rounding the corner. I ran for a block to the stop and ACTUALLY CAUGHT IT! Normally efforts that require physical activity are unrewarding to me, but alas!
- Spanish Track today had a quiz, but after it we had a chance to self-grade to get a rough idea of what we would get on the test. of the 100 sentences that had 2 blanks to fill for each, I only got 4 fill-ins wrong! That's gonna be an A on my first test in Spain!
- We got to watch a movie after our test!
- After my Track Class, I got out just in time to walk across the street and Angela, Natalia, Ana and I waited only 30 seconds until the bus came.
- Back in El Centro, I was able to get cash to pay the month's rent, and therefore didn't have to make an extra trip. PS: Carrying a wad of 400 euros is very intimidating and you become extra cautious of people...
- I briefly went shopping with Angela, and I got a small over the shoulder purse for going out. It is purple and adorable! And it was on REBAJAS (sale) for 5.99 euros.
- The aforementioned purse, at the register, rang up to be only 3.99 euros!!!
- By the time we left the store, siesta was over and the pharmacy was open so I had a chance to stop by there and get another task done: buying cold medicine. (more about this excursion later!)
- The woman at the pharmacy said my Spanish was great.
- Today was beautiful weather, a solid 58 degrees or so, and while it was cloudy, it was not very windy and much nicer compared to days past. Also, I got home with perfect timing, because 10 minutes after I stepped foot in the house, it rained! But I just missed it!
- When I got home, I was able to enjoy a lovely snack of Tostadas and Nutella, but the Tostadas are NOT Mexican tostadas...they are more like the things Bruschetta is served on here in the US. This is what Spanish tostadas look like, they are crispy like crackers:
- I had a chance to update my blog!
- I have very little homework!
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