Saturday | May 24, 2008

Not taking it for granted


Yesterday I had a job interview in Terrassa and Dayni had is final test for the curso cero. He is now officially free for the summer and I am kidnapping him and taking him back to Madrid.

But first, to celebrate, most of the people from his class went to the beach. We went along and it was fabulous. It kind of struck me at one point, as we were all sitting in the sand and just talking and relaxing. This is the most normal thing for many of these guys. Hey, it's a nice day, lets go sit on the shore of the mediterranian. It was a cloudy day, a little cold, spitting rain here and there. But that didn't stop us from having fun. A couple of girls went swimming in the freezing water. A spontaneous game of soccer broke out. We all ate paella, drank sangria and beer, and just had a wonderful time. For me, it was another new, wonderful experience that I can look forward to more often, now that we're moving to Terrassa soon. And for Dayni especially, I know it was great- he was away from the sea for so long in Kentucky after spending a lifetime with it at his backdoor in Cuba. It was a soul-warming experience for all of us.

Posted by devoncooper at 06:49:56 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday | May 20, 2008

A warning to all you wine snobs.

and you beer snobs too.

I'm sure everyone assumes that since Spanish people are famous for their love of wine (and beer), they must have very high standards. I am sure that in some restaurants too expensive for me to afford, there are people doing the "Sideways" thing. But all the commoners here have a different way of doing things. And it just might scare the heck out of you snobs. They MIX. That's right. You can mix pretty much anything into wine and beer here. My favorites are the "tinto de verano" which is red wine mixed with sugar and soda water. Then there's the "calimocho" that's red wine (the cheapest box you can get is usually around 45 cents) mixed with good ol' coca cola. And for the beer lovers, there is caña con limon, or light beer mixed with lemon soda (usually fanta). I thought about trying to invent my own mixture. But I'm pretty sure it's all been done before!
Posted by devoncooper at 13:02:43 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday | May 16, 2008

Butter on a roll

I'm in the office at work and on the radio is "It's rainin' men..." I don't really know what importance that has, I just felt the need to mention it. That's the kind of music we listen to in this office. That and Rhiana and another 2 or 3 songs that gt played over and over...

SO here is a good news update. I have a job interview in Terrassa, which is the town where Danny goes to school. If I can get this job, I will be SET! I would start in July, have August off to come home, then start again in September. It really seems too good to be true. Let's hope that's not the case. So my task now is to organize substitute teachers for my classes next friday so I can go to Barcelona. I even found a cheap plane ticket only one week in advance. Is that a sign? I'll take it!

By the way, what did I tell you? That Rhiana song just came on the sound system...
Posted by devoncooper at 06:46:53 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Saturday | May 03, 2008

Puente

In Spain, May 1st is Labor Day. How sad is it that my students had to teach me the history of this holiday (which originates in Chicago). Apparently I missed that part of history class. It's also not a coincidence that the US doesnt celebrate this holiday until September. Heaven forbid we should be associated with a holiday that has communist implications...
But enough of that!!! Anyway, May 1st is Workers day and May 2nd is the celebration of Madrid's rebellion against and liberation from the French army. SO we had a nice long four day weekend (called a puente). Dayni and I took advantage of the time to take a day trip to Segovia, a little town about an hour outside of Madrid. The big feature of Segovia is the Roman Aqueduct. It is absolutely marvelous!!! See pictures on my facebook page, or on Flickr.
We also celebrated Dayni's birthday (Happy Birthday baby!) And now we're getting ready to say goodbye as he once again heads out for Barcelona. BUT if all goes as planned, this should be the last of these terrible goodbyes. He finishes classes in mid May, and will be coming back to Madrid. Hopefully, in July, we will be headed home for a visit. Then, it's off to Barcelona for good. This is the plan... !

Posted by devoncooper at 19:26:54 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |