Let the good times roll! Jeanna and I have finally made it through our very first trimester of school here in Jaen, Spain! It was hard work at times; it is hard to believe that we made it. We will now partake in a “well deserved” three-week hiatus.
This first semester was so stressful for Miss Jeanna that she now feels the need to leave the country for a while. She believes that two weeks in Norway with her good friend Cristina will somehow relieve the stress before returning to work next year. The people here in Spain say that she is going to play with the penguins! When Jeanna says Norway they say, No Gracias! Que frio Jeanna, porque quieres jugar con los pinguinos?
I have decided to stay back and let Jeanna and Cristina have some good quality “girl time”. This time is no longer referred to as Christmas Break…It is now Eli’s winter training camp 2008! I will be sleeping and training for the next two weeks. It sounds like a rough life but I am willing to give it a try. Hopefully I will be able to muster up the energy to walk down to the internet café and communicate with the Pinguina Noruega!
My school’s faculty Christmas party was last night. We all piled into a bus after school. The bus took us to a cave in Pegalajar (a pueblo just outside of Jaen). There was a RESTAURANT BUILT INTO THE CAVE! Yes you did read that correctly. Jeanna and I had Christmas dinner in a cave. Pegalajar sits high up in the mountains. The views were spectacular and we could not have asked for a better day. We really enjoyed the meal and the time spent visiting with co-workers. It was truly an unforgettable experience!
Jeanna and I tried taking a little bit of video with our new camera. This idea was prompted by some comments left on the blog by a certain mom of ours…We both decided that we would try cheering up our poor lonely mothers with a little video of their Spanish children. For those of you who are not mothers, don’t worry about watching the video. We were just trying to keep the madres happy.
The other video is taken inside the cave. Two of my favorite teachers are standing beside Jeanna and wishing all of you a Merry Christmas/Happy New Year from Jaen Spain! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Feliz Navidad Desde España
Feliz Navidad y Un Prospero Año Nuevo a Todos
Amigos y Familia
I suppose that Miss Jeanna and I will consider this blog our "Christmas Letter". Life has been very difficult for us here in southern Spain but we are "making it". Day by day we get used to the lack of snow and the longing for endless rainy days. We are also growing accustomed to the demanding work schedule here in Jaen. Monday through Thursday is hard enough but expecting us to work until two almost pushes us over the edge from time to time. Good thing we have the bikes here as a positive form of stress relief! I actually spend more time on the bike than I do in the classroom. It is a little difficult at times but I think that I could get used to it. Miss Jeanna finally got tired of hearing about all of the cool things that I have seen on my rides...She has officially been converted into a ROADIE!!!! Jeanna finds herself wearing cycling shoes more often than running shoes! AS you can see from some of the photos it did not take much convincing on my part. The rides speak for themselves! She has become a true novelty here in Jaen. Very few women actually ride road bikes! She is known as the "rubia que anda en bici" and almost everyone knows her. She is also refered to as the "mujer de Elias" (Eli´s woman)which Miss Jeanna prefers over "hola guapetona!" (hey there hottie)! I prefer to be whistled at and referred to as guapeton (male hottie) but so far no takers...I always knew my wife was hotter than me!
Life other than cycling? Yes it does exist here but we dont talk about it much. Work is work no point to be labor the point (pun intended)...Christmas does exist here with lights, candy, santa claus and all. We have decided to view Christmas a little differnt this year. Christmas for us has always been about family. With our family half of a world away we decided to do something a little different. Miss Jeanna is headed off to visit her good friend Christina in NORWAY over the christmas break! Yes she has a Norweigan friend. Yes Norway is a country other than spain. Yes it is in Europe and yes there are a few profesional cyclist from there! No Eli is not going with his guapetona! No need to start any rumours here (although it is fun to do from time to time...ohh go ahead and start them we are in spain anyway)! This is an opportunity for Mrs. Jeanna to have some girl time and for me to...Yep you guessed it RIDE MY BICICLETA (no I rarely think about other things, yes I am an obsessed idiot, yes I should go with my wife...Iknow). Miss Jeanna is anxiously awaiting her once in a lifetime chance to go see more of the world. I am looking forward to some awesome stories and photos upon her return!
Jeanna and I did do a little Christmas shopping the other day! I bus trip down to La Loma (the local mall) was just what we needed to find the christmas spirit. I scale, a radio alarm clock, two frying pans, pate, cheese and bread! We took a picture of all of these incredible gifts with our BRAND NEW CAMERA! Ohh yeah more pictures will be posted now. Say good bye to the cannon and hello to the sweet new Fuji! We had no intentions of buying another camera but our other one gave up on us! Bitter sweet but we are really happy with the new one. Just in time for Norway!
This blog is too incredibly long. My sincere appologies. Jeanna and I would like to take a moment to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Years. We are thinking of all of our friends and family at this point and miss you all very much. We hope that you all have an incredible holiday season and enjoy the time with friends and family! Sorry about the bad weather but just remember you all have eachother! Hugs and Kisses to all and to all a good Night!
PS the scenic pictures were taken on a bike ride December 15, 2008 at around five in the afternoon! It was cold but absolutly beautiful!
Amigos y Familia
I suppose that Miss Jeanna and I will consider this blog our "Christmas Letter". Life has been very difficult for us here in southern Spain but we are "making it". Day by day we get used to the lack of snow and the longing for endless rainy days. We are also growing accustomed to the demanding work schedule here in Jaen. Monday through Thursday is hard enough but expecting us to work until two almost pushes us over the edge from time to time. Good thing we have the bikes here as a positive form of stress relief! I actually spend more time on the bike than I do in the classroom. It is a little difficult at times but I think that I could get used to it. Miss Jeanna finally got tired of hearing about all of the cool things that I have seen on my rides...She has officially been converted into a ROADIE!!!! Jeanna finds herself wearing cycling shoes more often than running shoes! AS you can see from some of the photos it did not take much convincing on my part. The rides speak for themselves! She has become a true novelty here in Jaen. Very few women actually ride road bikes! She is known as the "rubia que anda en bici" and almost everyone knows her. She is also refered to as the "mujer de Elias" (Eli´s woman)which Miss Jeanna prefers over "hola guapetona!" (hey there hottie)! I prefer to be whistled at and referred to as guapeton (male hottie) but so far no takers...I always knew my wife was hotter than me!
Life other than cycling? Yes it does exist here but we dont talk about it much. Work is work no point to be labor the point (pun intended)...Christmas does exist here with lights, candy, santa claus and all. We have decided to view Christmas a little differnt this year. Christmas for us has always been about family. With our family half of a world away we decided to do something a little different. Miss Jeanna is headed off to visit her good friend Christina in NORWAY over the christmas break! Yes she has a Norweigan friend. Yes Norway is a country other than spain. Yes it is in Europe and yes there are a few profesional cyclist from there! No Eli is not going with his guapetona! No need to start any rumours here (although it is fun to do from time to time...ohh go ahead and start them we are in spain anyway)! This is an opportunity for Mrs. Jeanna to have some girl time and for me to...Yep you guessed it RIDE MY BICICLETA (no I rarely think about other things, yes I am an obsessed idiot, yes I should go with my wife...Iknow). Miss Jeanna is anxiously awaiting her once in a lifetime chance to go see more of the world. I am looking forward to some awesome stories and photos upon her return!
Jeanna and I did do a little Christmas shopping the other day! I bus trip down to La Loma (the local mall) was just what we needed to find the christmas spirit. I scale, a radio alarm clock, two frying pans, pate, cheese and bread! We took a picture of all of these incredible gifts with our BRAND NEW CAMERA! Ohh yeah more pictures will be posted now. Say good bye to the cannon and hello to the sweet new Fuji! We had no intentions of buying another camera but our other one gave up on us! Bitter sweet but we are really happy with the new one. Just in time for Norway!
This blog is too incredibly long. My sincere appologies. Jeanna and I would like to take a moment to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Years. We are thinking of all of our friends and family at this point and miss you all very much. We hope that you all have an incredible holiday season and enjoy the time with friends and family! Sorry about the bad weather but just remember you all have eachother! Hugs and Kisses to all and to all a good Night!
PS the scenic pictures were taken on a bike ride December 15, 2008 at around five in the afternoon! It was cold but absolutly beautiful!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Whatever happened to those little piggies anyway?
Children and those still young at heart please do not continue reading…Assuming that I am now speaking to adults who can handle the truth I will start by stating the obvious; Santa Clause is not real, the Easter Bunny does not lay candy eggs in your lawn on Easter, and the Tooth Fairy does not come and put money under your pillow when you have lost a tooth (however some crazy mothers do hold onto those rotten baby teeth (I know…WeIrD right?))… Anyway I believe that you now get the point. Sometimes the story does not always have a happy ending.
Jeanna and I had the honor of tasting the end of “The Three Little Pigs”. The wolf may not have had his way but, Rafa, the Spaniard, was able to trick the wee ones into the Spanish horno! According to Senor Rafa (the host of the party) he was able to get these little pigs to “train with him” before he took them to the “little pig candy store” or butcher as we like to say back home. These were some “fit little pigs” and as a result they were tasty! Cochinillo was the name for the fire backed little pigs. As you can see in the photos they put the whole thing in the oven…nothing goes to waste when you are talking about the cerdo here in Spain!
This was another cyclist get together! That makes one per month since we have been here. A lot of this has to do with the holiday season but Spanish people never need much of an excuse for a get together! Jeanna and I had a really good time practicing our espanol with the people and trying some new food with a Spanish twist. The meal was wonderful and the company was great. Jeanna and I are really fortunate to have found these people who have taken us in and treated us as part of the group.
The cochinillo was in a little pueblo outside of Jaen. In fact, it was only twenty kilometers from the city of Granada! The pueblo was called Colomera and it is Rafa’s pueblo. He raised the pigs and he invited the people to eat them! After the meal was finished, Rafa decided that we all must see “El Santo” de Colomera. “El Santo” was Jesus crucified on a cross in a small little Iglesia at the top of the city. According to Rafa el Santo is very important in the town of Colomera and the people come to see him often. When they need rain for the olives, etc… It was very beautiful and Jeanna and I were both happy to walk off a little of the cochinillo!
The holiday season is now officially upon us and poco a poco the Christmas décor is making its way out. Jeanna and I are looking forward to the long Christmas break and all of the Spanish celebrations that will be taking place this month. Next week is another long weekend (four days) for the celebration of The Virgin Immaculation. We are officially done teaching on December 18 and do not have to come back until the 7th of January. It will be difficult finding things to do here in Andalucia with all of that free time but we will be sure and keep you up to date on the difficulties of a month off in Spain.
We hope that you are all doing well and that everyone had a wonderful Turkey day back home. You are all on our minds this holiday season. Enjoy the time with friends and family and know that are hearts and minds are there with all of you during these times of celebration!
Jeanna and I had the honor of tasting the end of “The Three Little Pigs”. The wolf may not have had his way but, Rafa, the Spaniard, was able to trick the wee ones into the Spanish horno! According to Senor Rafa (the host of the party) he was able to get these little pigs to “train with him” before he took them to the “little pig candy store” or butcher as we like to say back home. These were some “fit little pigs” and as a result they were tasty! Cochinillo was the name for the fire backed little pigs. As you can see in the photos they put the whole thing in the oven…nothing goes to waste when you are talking about the cerdo here in Spain!
This was another cyclist get together! That makes one per month since we have been here. A lot of this has to do with the holiday season but Spanish people never need much of an excuse for a get together! Jeanna and I had a really good time practicing our espanol with the people and trying some new food with a Spanish twist. The meal was wonderful and the company was great. Jeanna and I are really fortunate to have found these people who have taken us in and treated us as part of the group.
The cochinillo was in a little pueblo outside of Jaen. In fact, it was only twenty kilometers from the city of Granada! The pueblo was called Colomera and it is Rafa’s pueblo. He raised the pigs and he invited the people to eat them! After the meal was finished, Rafa decided that we all must see “El Santo” de Colomera. “El Santo” was Jesus crucified on a cross in a small little Iglesia at the top of the city. According to Rafa el Santo is very important in the town of Colomera and the people come to see him often. When they need rain for the olives, etc… It was very beautiful and Jeanna and I were both happy to walk off a little of the cochinillo!
The holiday season is now officially upon us and poco a poco the Christmas décor is making its way out. Jeanna and I are looking forward to the long Christmas break and all of the Spanish celebrations that will be taking place this month. Next week is another long weekend (four days) for the celebration of The Virgin Immaculation. We are officially done teaching on December 18 and do not have to come back until the 7th of January. It will be difficult finding things to do here in Andalucia with all of that free time but we will be sure and keep you up to date on the difficulties of a month off in Spain.
We hope that you are all doing well and that everyone had a wonderful Turkey day back home. You are all on our minds this holiday season. Enjoy the time with friends and family and know that are hearts and minds are there with all of you during these times of celebration!
Monday, November 24, 2008
¿Dónde Esta El Pavo?
El Pavo is Españish for The Turkey! We have not been able to encontrar the pavo and so we have decided that we must modify a few of the T-Day customs/traditions to fit the Espanish manera de vivir. What better way to change it up than to head to the PLAYA!?! Como se dice “Road Trip” en espanol? I don’t really know but it starts with buying a ticket at the bus station and heading to Almeria!
Jeanna and I met the “Almeria Girls” back in Seville during orientation week. We shot an email and asked for a floor to crash on. They were more than willing to give us a place to dormir and even offered to show us around a bit! We arrived in Almeria late Friday night. Just in time to check out the local Tapas scene. The girls showed us a couple of Tapas bars that we both really enjoyed. We ended the night with a midnight Kebab run! Ohh yeah, that is right…Kebab in spain…What is a kebab you ask? GYRO baby GYRO…SOOO good! Tortilla, lamb kebab, tiziki sauce, tomate! Love the kebab!
Saturday morning came a little later than normal but we were amped for a day on the beach. I must say that a mi me gusta the playa aqui en espana un poco mas que la playa en OREGON. Keep in mind that it is the end of November. Miss Jeanna was able to rock a skort and T-Shirt from ten o’clock in the morning on! You cannot do that in August on the Oregon coast! I cannot imagine what it is like in the summer but I am guessing it is awesome! Jeanna was excited to see the Mediterranean Sea while soaking in the rays. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day.
After a long walk down the beach front we headed to the local market of greatness! This was a market filled with fresh fruit, veggies, fish, meat, meat, and more meat (check out the fotos of the Jamon Serrano and Chorizo). We both enjoyed checking out all of the local food offered and the amazing varieties of meat, and fish! We picked up some fruit along the way but decided that the cabeza de sword fish was a little too spendy…Maybe next time, for now the foto will have to do! We then tried a new restaurant for a Spanish lunch @ the normal time of THREE in the afternoon! We are turning Spanish poco a poco! The meal was great and allowed us to finally try some of the Spanish fish. Four different types of fried fish served on a plate; head, tail and all! Unfortunately we forgot the camera for this expedition but rest assured it was an experience. The fish was great and it was cool seeing all of the little heads staring back at you!
From lunch, we headed to Alcazaba. This is Almeria’s fortress/castle that sits above the city. There are gardens inside and the views from above the city are amazing (check out the fotos). We really enjoyed the experience and were delighted to find out that it would not cost a dime (always a bonus)! We then had an American/Spanish dinner back at the girls’ apartment. A few other participants from the program came over and we all prepared a favorite dish. We all shared and had a nice visit/late night potluck. All and all it was a great experience. Did we mention that we were able to wear shorts comfortably on November 22, 2008? I am sure that it was nice back home as well…
The other fotos were taken at a party we had last Sunday with some Spanish friends we have made over here. Jeanna and I have been taken in by some “Spanish Angels”! These friends have been incredibly kind to Jeanna and I. Their family wanted to make Migas (a very traditional Spanish meal) for us. We all got together on Sunday (after training of course) and had Migas. I was given the opportunity to help and now know how to make Migas for everyone upon our return. It was an incredible experience that we both really enjoyed. We have truly been blessed on this journey in our lives and are constantly reminded of all the things that we have to be thankful for. Even though we have been unable to find the Pavo, we will attempt to make a Spanish/American Thanksgiving dinner and we will be thinking about all of you back home. We wish you the best this Thanksgiving and hope that you all have a wonderful time with friends and family! We miss all of you very much and wish that we could be there to share the holidays with you. In the mean time we will try to make the most of this hard winter we are having here and most importantly try to remember the sunscreen… It would be miserable trying to deal with a sunburn in December…Is that possible? I don’t know but we will keep you posted. Enjoy the warmth of the fireplace, or heater for those more “modern” peeps! Love you all,
Eli and Jeanna
Jeanna and I met the “Almeria Girls” back in Seville during orientation week. We shot an email and asked for a floor to crash on. They were more than willing to give us a place to dormir and even offered to show us around a bit! We arrived in Almeria late Friday night. Just in time to check out the local Tapas scene. The girls showed us a couple of Tapas bars that we both really enjoyed. We ended the night with a midnight Kebab run! Ohh yeah, that is right…Kebab in spain…What is a kebab you ask? GYRO baby GYRO…SOOO good! Tortilla, lamb kebab, tiziki sauce, tomate! Love the kebab!
Saturday morning came a little later than normal but we were amped for a day on the beach. I must say that a mi me gusta the playa aqui en espana un poco mas que la playa en OREGON. Keep in mind that it is the end of November. Miss Jeanna was able to rock a skort and T-Shirt from ten o’clock in the morning on! You cannot do that in August on the Oregon coast! I cannot imagine what it is like in the summer but I am guessing it is awesome! Jeanna was excited to see the Mediterranean Sea while soaking in the rays. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day.
After a long walk down the beach front we headed to the local market of greatness! This was a market filled with fresh fruit, veggies, fish, meat, meat, and more meat (check out the fotos of the Jamon Serrano and Chorizo). We both enjoyed checking out all of the local food offered and the amazing varieties of meat, and fish! We picked up some fruit along the way but decided that the cabeza de sword fish was a little too spendy…Maybe next time, for now the foto will have to do! We then tried a new restaurant for a Spanish lunch @ the normal time of THREE in the afternoon! We are turning Spanish poco a poco! The meal was great and allowed us to finally try some of the Spanish fish. Four different types of fried fish served on a plate; head, tail and all! Unfortunately we forgot the camera for this expedition but rest assured it was an experience. The fish was great and it was cool seeing all of the little heads staring back at you!
From lunch, we headed to Alcazaba. This is Almeria’s fortress/castle that sits above the city. There are gardens inside and the views from above the city are amazing (check out the fotos). We really enjoyed the experience and were delighted to find out that it would not cost a dime (always a bonus)! We then had an American/Spanish dinner back at the girls’ apartment. A few other participants from the program came over and we all prepared a favorite dish. We all shared and had a nice visit/late night potluck. All and all it was a great experience. Did we mention that we were able to wear shorts comfortably on November 22, 2008? I am sure that it was nice back home as well…
The other fotos were taken at a party we had last Sunday with some Spanish friends we have made over here. Jeanna and I have been taken in by some “Spanish Angels”! These friends have been incredibly kind to Jeanna and I. Their family wanted to make Migas (a very traditional Spanish meal) for us. We all got together on Sunday (after training of course) and had Migas. I was given the opportunity to help and now know how to make Migas for everyone upon our return. It was an incredible experience that we both really enjoyed. We have truly been blessed on this journey in our lives and are constantly reminded of all the things that we have to be thankful for. Even though we have been unable to find the Pavo, we will attempt to make a Spanish/American Thanksgiving dinner and we will be thinking about all of you back home. We wish you the best this Thanksgiving and hope that you all have a wonderful time with friends and family! We miss all of you very much and wish that we could be there to share the holidays with you. In the mean time we will try to make the most of this hard winter we are having here and most importantly try to remember the sunscreen… It would be miserable trying to deal with a sunburn in December…Is that possible? I don’t know but we will keep you posted. Enjoy the warmth of the fireplace, or heater for those more “modern” peeps! Love you all,
Eli and Jeanna
Friday, November 14, 2008
¿Invierno?
It is very hard to believe that we are half way through the month of Noviembre already. It is difficult for us to not be thinking of the upcoming holidays and the family we will not be spending time with this year. Although the thought of missing out on quality time with our families is a little sad we realize that we have a lot to be thankful for and that it will not be all that long until we are back in the states. Who says you can’t have a Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner in July? Sounds good to us!
For those of you who have forgotten the year of Español you took back in high school or, even worse, have forgotten that you even attended high school “some years ago”… Invierno is the “Espanish” word for winter. We decided not to refer to this time of year as winter, rather we will forever refer to it as invierno andaluz (Andalusian Winter). Winter vocabulary for us before coming to Spain included the words: cold, miserable, wet, snowy, icy, scary driving, dark, gloomy, etc… As hard as it will be to let go of the vocabulary for this year, we have decided to share our new vocabulary with all of you. Clear blue skies, brisk in the morning, pleasantly refreshing in the afternoon, a little on the warm side from time to time, dry, lack of wet, not much precipitation, not snowy, and rather nice! Please refrain from sending us comments like, “you suck”, or “lucky you, it is awful here”…we can imagine what it is like over there and we are thankful that we are here. We enjoy exercising in shorts, and our legs certainly appreciate the sun. And the sun must definitely be needed, as last week Eli received the comment that his legs were “white as milk” (notice that milk is used in place of snow, as the latter is as rare as a sunny winter day on the Westside of Oregon). Not much to get lost in translation on that one!
All kidding aside it is very humorous for us to watch the Jiennenses “people of Jaén” react to the arrival of winter. We are constantly holding back smiles/laughter brought on by the comments about how cold it is, and how it is hard getting used to “winter” which has apparently come early this year according to the locals! Ohh yeah and the three days of rain that we have seen are…”very rare and we probably should not expect more than once a month from here on out because we received so much early on”… I know it is doubtful, but please believe us when we say we think we’ll survive the winter! I was training with the boys last night in a short-sleeve jersey. I had started the ride with arm warmers but decided to shed them after a decent-sized climb. All of the people in the group told me I was crazy and let me know that it was a bad idea. When they finally realized I was not kidding and was truly hot they began to ask me what I planned on wearing when spring/summer arrived…I kindly replied that I plan on riding my bicicleta desnuda! They all got a kick out of that. They all find my butchering of the language quite humorous and love teaching me all sorts of dichos that I would be wise to never repeat! They love hearing the foreigner say “naughty words”! I don’t mind being the one to give them their daily dose of laughter!
On a different note, Miss Jeanna Lynn was introduced to the Mercadillo last week! The Mercadillo could be compared to a weekly flea market of sorts. She found a second home but lucky for us you must have a car to make it out there! We might be able to save a little money after all! Honestly, for those of you who know Aunt Jeanna she has the opposite of expensive taste and no problem saving money rather than spending like somebody else in the fam (who happens to have excellent taste in cycling apparel might I add). She did however find a rock-star pair of pseudo leather boots (that are all the rage here in Jaén) for a smoking deal. She was also conned into buying a couple pair of the infamous calcetines barratos del Mercadillo (cheap socks)!
We are both having an amazing time here in Espain. We hope that all of you are doing well and getting excited for the upcoming holiday season. Know that we are thinking about all of you and wish that we could have you all over here for the holidays. Until next time
Eli and Jeanna
For those of you who have forgotten the year of Español you took back in high school or, even worse, have forgotten that you even attended high school “some years ago”… Invierno is the “Espanish” word for winter. We decided not to refer to this time of year as winter, rather we will forever refer to it as invierno andaluz (Andalusian Winter). Winter vocabulary for us before coming to Spain included the words: cold, miserable, wet, snowy, icy, scary driving, dark, gloomy, etc… As hard as it will be to let go of the vocabulary for this year, we have decided to share our new vocabulary with all of you. Clear blue skies, brisk in the morning, pleasantly refreshing in the afternoon, a little on the warm side from time to time, dry, lack of wet, not much precipitation, not snowy, and rather nice! Please refrain from sending us comments like, “you suck”, or “lucky you, it is awful here”…we can imagine what it is like over there and we are thankful that we are here. We enjoy exercising in shorts, and our legs certainly appreciate the sun. And the sun must definitely be needed, as last week Eli received the comment that his legs were “white as milk” (notice that milk is used in place of snow, as the latter is as rare as a sunny winter day on the Westside of Oregon). Not much to get lost in translation on that one!
All kidding aside it is very humorous for us to watch the Jiennenses “people of Jaén” react to the arrival of winter. We are constantly holding back smiles/laughter brought on by the comments about how cold it is, and how it is hard getting used to “winter” which has apparently come early this year according to the locals! Ohh yeah and the three days of rain that we have seen are…”very rare and we probably should not expect more than once a month from here on out because we received so much early on”… I know it is doubtful, but please believe us when we say we think we’ll survive the winter! I was training with the boys last night in a short-sleeve jersey. I had started the ride with arm warmers but decided to shed them after a decent-sized climb. All of the people in the group told me I was crazy and let me know that it was a bad idea. When they finally realized I was not kidding and was truly hot they began to ask me what I planned on wearing when spring/summer arrived…I kindly replied that I plan on riding my bicicleta desnuda! They all got a kick out of that. They all find my butchering of the language quite humorous and love teaching me all sorts of dichos that I would be wise to never repeat! They love hearing the foreigner say “naughty words”! I don’t mind being the one to give them their daily dose of laughter!
On a different note, Miss Jeanna Lynn was introduced to the Mercadillo last week! The Mercadillo could be compared to a weekly flea market of sorts. She found a second home but lucky for us you must have a car to make it out there! We might be able to save a little money after all! Honestly, for those of you who know Aunt Jeanna she has the opposite of expensive taste and no problem saving money rather than spending like somebody else in the fam (who happens to have excellent taste in cycling apparel might I add). She did however find a rock-star pair of pseudo leather boots (that are all the rage here in Jaén) for a smoking deal. She was also conned into buying a couple pair of the infamous calcetines barratos del Mercadillo (cheap socks)!
We are both having an amazing time here in Espain. We hope that all of you are doing well and getting excited for the upcoming holiday season. Know that we are thinking about all of you and wish that we could have you all over here for the holidays. Until next time
Eli and Jeanna
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Tranquilo Por Favor!
Pictures with no writing? That is like a book without words. I am sure that many of you might be wondering why the word Pomegranate and how the hell did we make that upside down question mark! Well the question mark will have to reamain our little secret but let us fill you in on the title.
Granada is español (¿how do you like that n?) for pomegranate! Granada is where we went last friday and the pictures/slidshow that you are looking at are of Granada...or the city of Pomegranate in el ingles! Absolutley amazing. We left Jaen at noon and were back by midnight! Subtract two hours driving time and that means that we were only able to spend eight hours in one of the most beautiful places we have ever been. Ohh yeah, you might as well subtract another TWO hours we spent inside an authentic Italian restaurant eating the best food we have ever had in our lives. This restaurant made the famous olive garden seem like a dirty Micky D´s (sorry grandpa Rob). De la puta madre! as the people here in Jaen say! This restaurant was unbelievable and we will surely be going back. Anyone that comes to visit will have to head to Granada to see/taste what we are talking about!
The Sierra Nevada Mt. Range is in the background covered in snow. The cool looking building is la Alhambra (look it up in a book or on the web for more info). We were unable to go inside but the view from outside was increible! We truly enjoyed every moment spent in this city and will be planning more trips over that way in the near future... Not to rub it in too much but it just so happened that friday through monday was short and t-shirt weather with blue bird days ta boot!
Jeanna and I are having a really good time here in Spain. We would like to say thank you to all of those that have helped make this dream a reality for both of us. WE are both truly enjoying this experience to the fullest. I get my spainish lessons on the bike and Jeanna has made a few spanish friends that take her differnt places and present her with an opportunity to mejorar her español as well! Poco a Poco we are learning the language/culture etc. We look forward to the next couple months and all that we have in store. Los Vacaciones de Navidad are just around the corner!! WOOOOOzeR!! Ohh yeah...We work...everyonce in awhile! (insert big queso smile)!
Love and miss you all
Eli and Jeanna
Granada is español (¿how do you like that n?) for pomegranate! Granada is where we went last friday and the pictures/slidshow that you are looking at are of Granada...or the city of Pomegranate in el ingles! Absolutley amazing. We left Jaen at noon and were back by midnight! Subtract two hours driving time and that means that we were only able to spend eight hours in one of the most beautiful places we have ever been. Ohh yeah, you might as well subtract another TWO hours we spent inside an authentic Italian restaurant eating the best food we have ever had in our lives. This restaurant made the famous olive garden seem like a dirty Micky D´s (sorry grandpa Rob). De la puta madre! as the people here in Jaen say! This restaurant was unbelievable and we will surely be going back. Anyone that comes to visit will have to head to Granada to see/taste what we are talking about!
The Sierra Nevada Mt. Range is in the background covered in snow. The cool looking building is la Alhambra (look it up in a book or on the web for more info). We were unable to go inside but the view from outside was increible! We truly enjoyed every moment spent in this city and will be planning more trips over that way in the near future... Not to rub it in too much but it just so happened that friday through monday was short and t-shirt weather with blue bird days ta boot!
Jeanna and I are having a really good time here in Spain. We would like to say thank you to all of those that have helped make this dream a reality for both of us. WE are both truly enjoying this experience to the fullest. I get my spainish lessons on the bike and Jeanna has made a few spanish friends that take her differnt places and present her with an opportunity to mejorar her español as well! Poco a Poco we are learning the language/culture etc. We look forward to the next couple months and all that we have in store. Los Vacaciones de Navidad are just around the corner!! WOOOOOzeR!! Ohh yeah...We work...everyonce in awhile! (insert big queso smile)!
Love and miss you all
Eli and Jeanna
Friday, October 24, 2008
¡Viva la aceituna con chocolate!
In three short weeks, we have officially gone through our first 750ml bottle of extra virgen olive oil. In Spanish, oil is aceite, and olives are olivas, but since olive oil is used on top of pretty much everything, olives are also known as aceituna. We’d like to think that the main reason for this rapid consumption of olive oil is because we don’t have a toaster, and as such we “toast” our bread in a frying pan that has a thin layer of oil on the bottom. In reality however, the olive oil over here tastes really good. We still haven’t become complete true Spaniards though, who we’ve seen (not even kidding) put half a cup of oil on their one piece of toast, followed by a couple teaspoons of salt. This heart-attack on a plate is what the Spaniards like to call breakfast. It is consumed around ten in the morning and washed down with a cup of café con leche.
For those who enjoy the sweeter side of life there are ample places where you can buy churros con chocolate for breakfast! The churros have been calling Miss Jeanna’s name since arriving in Spain. The thought of eating something so sinful for breakfast has held her back, but upon realizing that Spain would not change for her (and serve them as a dessert after dinner) she broke down and we gave it a try. Elias la idiota que se habla un poco mas que su esposa (the idiot that speaks a little more than his wife) took the honors of ordering these delicatessens. He ordered two churros con chocolate and two cups of café con leche. Makes sense, right? There were two of us sitting in the cafeteria/churreria after all. He should have thought about it a little more when the waiter repeated the order to him twice to make sure that he was understanding it correctly. Si, Si, he said like a stupid American who had never in his life been to a churreria. Vale, he replied (the Spanish equivalent to okee-dokee!) and to the back he went. Five minutes later there appeared two, let me repeat TWO, coffee mugs filled with warm melted chocolaty goodness and un monton de churros (I think you can figure that one out without translation). Apparently when you say that you would like a churro it means a plate of churros. And when you say that you would like them with chocolate it means half of Charlie’s factory!!! Needless to say there was un monton of churros left over as neither of us could bring ourselves to indulge in more than one. Thankfully Jeanna’s school is relatively close and we were able to take the remaining plate of food to the teachers’ lounge! Seven euros will buy you enough churros to feed an army and enough chocolate to keep your wife happy for at least an entire month!
We are continuing to have an incredible time here in Spain. Little by little we are picking up parts of the language and culture and we are getting to know the city a little better everyday. We have been invited to several peoples’ homes for lunch/dinner and are hoping that this will open the door to more invites so we can begin to make some friends here in Jaen. The training has been going very for both of us. We have ample time to workout and the weather/location could not be better. We will continue to try and update this blog as time/internet connection permit. We hope that all of those back home are doing well.
Hasta la proxima
Elias and Jeanna (Apparently her name is easier to say…go figure)!
For those who enjoy the sweeter side of life there are ample places where you can buy churros con chocolate for breakfast! The churros have been calling Miss Jeanna’s name since arriving in Spain. The thought of eating something so sinful for breakfast has held her back, but upon realizing that Spain would not change for her (and serve them as a dessert after dinner) she broke down and we gave it a try. Elias la idiota que se habla un poco mas que su esposa (the idiot that speaks a little more than his wife) took the honors of ordering these delicatessens. He ordered two churros con chocolate and two cups of café con leche. Makes sense, right? There were two of us sitting in the cafeteria/churreria after all. He should have thought about it a little more when the waiter repeated the order to him twice to make sure that he was understanding it correctly. Si, Si, he said like a stupid American who had never in his life been to a churreria. Vale, he replied (the Spanish equivalent to okee-dokee!) and to the back he went. Five minutes later there appeared two, let me repeat TWO, coffee mugs filled with warm melted chocolaty goodness and un monton de churros (I think you can figure that one out without translation). Apparently when you say that you would like a churro it means a plate of churros. And when you say that you would like them with chocolate it means half of Charlie’s factory!!! Needless to say there was un monton of churros left over as neither of us could bring ourselves to indulge in more than one. Thankfully Jeanna’s school is relatively close and we were able to take the remaining plate of food to the teachers’ lounge! Seven euros will buy you enough churros to feed an army and enough chocolate to keep your wife happy for at least an entire month!
We are continuing to have an incredible time here in Spain. Little by little we are picking up parts of the language and culture and we are getting to know the city a little better everyday. We have been invited to several peoples’ homes for lunch/dinner and are hoping that this will open the door to more invites so we can begin to make some friends here in Jaen. The training has been going very for both of us. We have ample time to workout and the weather/location could not be better. We will continue to try and update this blog as time/internet connection permit. We hope that all of those back home are doing well.
Hasta la proxima
Elias and Jeanna (Apparently her name is easier to say…go figure)!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Settling In
With two weeks now behind us, Jeanna and I are beginning to get the rhythm of things here in Jaen/Spain. Life is, without a doubt, different here than in the US of A. One of the major differences is the Siesta! I am sure that many of you have heard the word before and maybe used it to describe a little thing we like to call a “nap” or “little snoozer” in el idioma ingles! Siesta is more than a time to rest, however. It is a time to eat, a large break from work, and a time to visit with friends. Siesta lasts from 2 o’clock until 5 in the afternoon. Siesta is not a time to try to get things done (like we would in the US), rather it is a time where life almost literally stops! Siesta is great if you have friends and or family to share it with, but for Jeanna and I it is a time where we have absolutely nothing to do. We have started using this time to begin working out or to do our grocery shopping (the only store that is open during siesta). It is honestly amazing. You can be at the busiest intersection in all of Jaen at 1:30 pm and see thousands of people driving around like MANIACS! Wait a half an hour and safely go lay out in the middle of intersection! Slight exaggeration but it is honestly something to see. It’s a great time to ride your bike downtown!
Feria! Feria directly translated means fair. Feria en espana is nothing like “the fair” in the United States. Feria started last Friday and will continue through Sunday night. It goes from sun-up to… sometimes sun-up once again! Feria includes: carnival rides for the kids, fair like food for everyone, booths selling all kinds of junk and junk food, and casetas (tents) that are literally “pop-up” disco-techs! Loud music and LOTS of drinking/dancing the night away…Did I mention REALLY loud music? Each caseta has its own dj/music. There appears to be a competition between casetas to see who can play their music the loudest. This competition makes it very un-enjoyable to be in any of them! Needless to say, Feria is not really our idea of a good time but it was a cultural experience and both of us mentioned to one another that it would have been more fun if we had friends/family to pass the time with. We went to Feria with the faculty at my school. We all had lunch together and then spent the next couple of hours dancing and trying to visit (did I mention that the music was REALLY loud?). Jeanna was in heaven as she had finally found a place where she could bust out her funky white girl dance and everyone was too drunk to notice that she was in fact a… funky white girl! All joking aside, I looked more out of place than Jeanna as I do not really enjoy the bailando. I had several people ask me if she was born in Spain, as she appeared to enjoy dancing even more than the natives!
Everyday we are learning more about the culture and more of the language. We are both getting used to teaching in Spain and becoming more familiar with the city everyday. Eli has finally found some riding partners (who happen to be… we will save that for another blog) and Jeanna is finding more and more places to run. The mountain biking here seems to be rather incredible. We have also found tons of hiking/ Mt.Biking trails and have spotted some bolted rock climbing routes right below the castle. Rock climbing directly below an ancient castle???? (Whit and Mavis- this us telling you to come visit us ASAP!) We miss you all very much but it might be difficult for us to come home
From Jaen To all of You (Or ya’all in the vosotros form)
Eli and Miss Jeanna
Feria! Feria directly translated means fair. Feria en espana is nothing like “the fair” in the United States. Feria started last Friday and will continue through Sunday night. It goes from sun-up to… sometimes sun-up once again! Feria includes: carnival rides for the kids, fair like food for everyone, booths selling all kinds of junk and junk food, and casetas (tents) that are literally “pop-up” disco-techs! Loud music and LOTS of drinking/dancing the night away…Did I mention REALLY loud music? Each caseta has its own dj/music. There appears to be a competition between casetas to see who can play their music the loudest. This competition makes it very un-enjoyable to be in any of them! Needless to say, Feria is not really our idea of a good time but it was a cultural experience and both of us mentioned to one another that it would have been more fun if we had friends/family to pass the time with. We went to Feria with the faculty at my school. We all had lunch together and then spent the next couple of hours dancing and trying to visit (did I mention that the music was REALLY loud?). Jeanna was in heaven as she had finally found a place where she could bust out her funky white girl dance and everyone was too drunk to notice that she was in fact a… funky white girl! All joking aside, I looked more out of place than Jeanna as I do not really enjoy the bailando. I had several people ask me if she was born in Spain, as she appeared to enjoy dancing even more than the natives!
Everyday we are learning more about the culture and more of the language. We are both getting used to teaching in Spain and becoming more familiar with the city everyday. Eli has finally found some riding partners (who happen to be… we will save that for another blog) and Jeanna is finding more and more places to run. The mountain biking here seems to be rather incredible. We have also found tons of hiking/ Mt.Biking trails and have spotted some bolted rock climbing routes right below the castle. Rock climbing directly below an ancient castle???? (Whit and Mavis- this us telling you to come visit us ASAP!) We miss you all very much but it might be difficult for us to come home
From Jaen To all of You (Or ya’all in the vosotros form)
Eli and Miss Jeanna
Hills, Hills, Hills!
We have a home! We are the proud renters of a 40 meter-squared apartamento outside city limits en el campo. While most would think the location is in the middle of nowhere, it is approximately a half-mile walk to Jeanna’s school and just under a mile to Eli’s school. Thankfully, the walk in the morning is downhill.
Jaen has more to offer than we were originally expecting, and everything seems to be within walking distance. This may or may not be a good thing as we spent our first two days here walking over 20 miles combined while looking for an apartment. Eli asked for a city with hills, and HILLS WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN! The majority of the streets have an average grade of 3-6%, but it is not unusual to find those with 15% or greater (which by the way, Eli thought would be “fun” to run yesterday…we choose a flatter course today). To put things into perspective, Meacham has an average 6% grade. On the bright side of things, we should come back to Oregon with calves of steel.
The people here are VERY nice. Although it is a town of 115,000 people, it feels much smaller. We both feel very safe and comfortable. Grocery shopping without a car has been exciting for us. We essentially live at the top of the hill and the grocery store conveniently sits at the bottom. The walk is just under a mile, but is literally straight up hill. For the La Grandees- taking groceries home is much like hiking to the “L”. As a side note: Hiking packs make for great grocery-getters. In all honesty, we are very happy with the location of our apartment. It more than meets our needs and is much bigger than our first. Our only complaint is that our apartment is not furnished with an oven. No baking for eight months might limit meal options; we have already mourned the loss of our lasagna and turkey enchiladas.
We’re both quite pleased with our school assignments and after only one week have repeatedly been stopped on the street with the greetings of children saying, “Hello, teacher”. The teachers here have an incredibly rough, back-breaking schedule of 9:00-2:00. Thank God that siesta is from 2:00-5:00 or they might not make it through the week. It’s a good thing that because of Feria of San Lucas they only have a 3-day work week coming up or undoubtedly we’d be seeing early retirement. We’ll save Feria and tapas for another day.
Jaen has more to offer than we were originally expecting, and everything seems to be within walking distance. This may or may not be a good thing as we spent our first two days here walking over 20 miles combined while looking for an apartment. Eli asked for a city with hills, and HILLS WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN! The majority of the streets have an average grade of 3-6%, but it is not unusual to find those with 15% or greater (which by the way, Eli thought would be “fun” to run yesterday…we choose a flatter course today). To put things into perspective, Meacham has an average 6% grade. On the bright side of things, we should come back to Oregon with calves of steel.
The people here are VERY nice. Although it is a town of 115,000 people, it feels much smaller. We both feel very safe and comfortable. Grocery shopping without a car has been exciting for us. We essentially live at the top of the hill and the grocery store conveniently sits at the bottom. The walk is just under a mile, but is literally straight up hill. For the La Grandees- taking groceries home is much like hiking to the “L”. As a side note: Hiking packs make for great grocery-getters. In all honesty, we are very happy with the location of our apartment. It more than meets our needs and is much bigger than our first. Our only complaint is that our apartment is not furnished with an oven. No baking for eight months might limit meal options; we have already mourned the loss of our lasagna and turkey enchiladas.
We’re both quite pleased with our school assignments and after only one week have repeatedly been stopped on the street with the greetings of children saying, “Hello, teacher”. The teachers here have an incredibly rough, back-breaking schedule of 9:00-2:00. Thank God that siesta is from 2:00-5:00 or they might not make it through the week. It’s a good thing that because of Feria of San Lucas they only have a 3-day work week coming up or undoubtedly we’d be seeing early retirement. We’ll save Feria and tapas for another day.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Alcazar and Flamenco
The days here have been gorgeous! It is true...there is a lot of sun in Andalucia. Funny thing though, Spaniards love to have bottled water. In fact, that is about the only water they drink, and they look at you all crazy-like if you ask for it from the facet. This could prove to be difficult for us, because we could end up using our entire stipend to simply fill our bottles!
Yesterday was a really nice day. In the afternoon we went and walked over to Alcazar. It is near the cathedral, which we unfortunately weren't able to really see. But it was SOOO impressive. The tile work, and designs, and gardens, and architecture....WOW! It is truly breathtaking. We were fortunate enough to have a girl who helps our organization act as a tour-guide which was really informative. It was so beautiful and we were so happy to see it. Later that evening we went to a Flamenco show. It was so intense. It was definitely an experience, and kind of neat because the dancers actually ended up at the same bar as us afterwards. After some "vino tinto" and a good plate of paella we decided to call it a night. Tomorrow we head out for Jaen where we have a few days to find a place to live. Unfortunately, one of those days is on a Sunday, which in case you didn't know...is the Sabbath! Which means...nothing happens. School starts on Monday. Wish us luck!
Eli and Jeanna
Yesterday was a really nice day. In the afternoon we went and walked over to Alcazar. It is near the cathedral, which we unfortunately weren't able to really see. But it was SOOO impressive. The tile work, and designs, and gardens, and architecture....WOW! It is truly breathtaking. We were fortunate enough to have a girl who helps our organization act as a tour-guide which was really informative. It was so beautiful and we were so happy to see it. Later that evening we went to a Flamenco show. It was so intense. It was definitely an experience, and kind of neat because the dancers actually ended up at the same bar as us afterwards. After some "vino tinto" and a good plate of paella we decided to call it a night. Tomorrow we head out for Jaen where we have a few days to find a place to live. Unfortunately, one of those days is on a Sunday, which in case you didn't know...is the Sabbath! Which means...nothing happens. School starts on Monday. Wish us luck!
Eli and Jeanna
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Viva la Lisp!
After three years of hearing ourselves talk about leaving the country we have finally made it. Let me start by letting you know that 18 hours on a plane is a LONG TIME. In case you have already forgotten one of us is a minature giant. Planes were not designed with 6'3" men in mind. In fact I do not belive that planes were made with people in mind. Probably money on the mind with no consideration for comfort...
So what is Spain like? First impressions are good. The weather is good the people seem nice and the hotels that we are staying in are nicer than a tent! We have not had much of an opportunity to leave the hotel as our days have been filled with orientacion (that is how you say orientation en espanol...hard one I know)! Spanish people love the pig. We have already eaten pig also known as pork or puerco (en espanol) in more ways than I ever thought possible. Raw pork, cooked pork, bacon (not cooked like we do at home...RAW with a little warming), pork soup, pork pork pork!!! We have also had la oportunidad (opportunity en espanol...another hard one try to bare with me) to try some of the famous tapas. Amoung the favorites, octopus, raw pork slices, pork ka-bobs and some other things that we were not quite sure about...tasted good though and that is what is important. Unfortunatly we have not yet had the opportunity to take any pictures but we promise to get on it! The food has been great the people are nice and we are loving the lisp! Hopefully the next post will be a little more enjoyable... You know one with fotos and what not. None of you really want to read you just want pictures!
Peace Out Hommies (As Miss Tylie Would Say)
Eli and Miss Jeanna
So what is Spain like? First impressions are good. The weather is good the people seem nice and the hotels that we are staying in are nicer than a tent! We have not had much of an opportunity to leave the hotel as our days have been filled with orientacion (that is how you say orientation en espanol...hard one I know)! Spanish people love the pig. We have already eaten pig also known as pork or puerco (en espanol) in more ways than I ever thought possible. Raw pork, cooked pork, bacon (not cooked like we do at home...RAW with a little warming), pork soup, pork pork pork!!! We have also had la oportunidad (opportunity en espanol...another hard one try to bare with me) to try some of the famous tapas. Amoung the favorites, octopus, raw pork slices, pork ka-bobs and some other things that we were not quite sure about...tasted good though and that is what is important. Unfortunatly we have not yet had the opportunity to take any pictures but we promise to get on it! The food has been great the people are nice and we are loving the lisp! Hopefully the next post will be a little more enjoyable... You know one with fotos and what not. None of you really want to read you just want pictures!
Peace Out Hommies (As Miss Tylie Would Say)
Eli and Miss Jeanna
Monday, September 22, 2008
A New Chapter is on the way
Trying to remain calm...So today was the first day that I actually awoke with a little bit of panic. I could hardly believe that it was already Monday and we are flying out in a few days. Thankfully I was finally able to put together a list and get some things accomplished. I guess we've kind of put off packing, but we finally buckled down and got it started tonight. I must say that the bikes pack up quite nicely. I just really hope that we're able to get the most out of them and our time in Spain. I would hate to look back on these coming months with any regrets. Knowing us, Eli will just be reminding me to live in the moment and not worry too much about the future. I'm so excited for this new time in our lives. I feel like I've been waiting so long to have an experience out of the country, and now I can hardly believe it is really here. Hopefully afterward we will finally feel like we are able to move forward in our lives. We are truly blessed in so many ways. We have been so thankful for one another, as well as all our incredible family and their unending support. None of this would be possible without them...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Are we there yet?
I think this time in Triangle Lake is making us even more excited to leave for Spain. It's not that we don't love spending time with the family, it's just that we've never been in a situation where we've had so much free time with nothing to do. At this point, we are definitely ready for our flight. The first two weeks are undoubtedly going to be incredibly stressful, what with orientation, finding housing, talking to our new bosses at our new jobs, getting moved in, getting our Spanish residency and having to deal with the Spanish police and then all the banking stresses on top of it. Today I found out that one euro is equal to $1.42. Not very good news for us. Anyway...we have a couple decisions to make and things to get situated before we leave, but nevertheless, as you can see from Eli, we are anxious and excited for things to start getting underway.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
2 WEEKS!
We just got back from a trip to La Grande and can hardly believe we only have two weeks until we head up to Portland for our flight!
We had a really great time in La Grande. Time and distance do truly make the heart grow fonder, but all we made La Grande out to be in our minds quickly dissipated upon returning. True, it was beautiful, and the small town feel where everything is in walking distance was nice, but everything closing at 3:00pm and nothing being open on Saturday was a reminder that cities definitely have something going for them.
It was really nice getting to see Eli's side of the family again. His sister definitely has her hands full with her 5 kids, but they are great and the twins keep things interesting. Avila is adorable as always, and the older girls seem to be enjoying school. We were able to spend more time than ever before with his sister, Mallory, and that was an absolute treat. She has been awesome with the kids and is gearing up to start nursing school in a few weeks. Time with her was definetly one of the highlights.
While we were there we spent a day with our friends Whit and Mavis, and headed up to ride the mountain bike trails up by Anthony Lakes followed by some rock climbing. It was an incredible day. It really doesn't get much better than that.
On the way home we stopped in Portland and got together with some friends for the night. Portland was great and it was so nice to be in a place with options and culture and things to do. For dinner we went to this AWESOME Cuban restaurant called Pambiche. I think Eli felt like he was back in Panama. The food was remarkable and it was so wonderful to spend some time with friends.
We're back in Triangle Lake now. Eli spent the day up on the hill, helping Dad fall some trees, and I've been helping out the museum that my parents help run. My mind has been spinning with all the things I need to do before we leave and all the things I need to make sure I have together. I got the web address for the school I'm going to be teaching at and to be honest, it sounds amazing! The address is: http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/averroes/navasdetolosa/
The kids seems so smart and I can hardly wait to meet them all...I just hope I'm not a disappointment to them. I'm hoping to get some teaching materials from my sister that might be able to help us out...now if only I could figure out what to pack...
We had a really great time in La Grande. Time and distance do truly make the heart grow fonder, but all we made La Grande out to be in our minds quickly dissipated upon returning. True, it was beautiful, and the small town feel where everything is in walking distance was nice, but everything closing at 3:00pm and nothing being open on Saturday was a reminder that cities definitely have something going for them.
It was really nice getting to see Eli's side of the family again. His sister definitely has her hands full with her 5 kids, but they are great and the twins keep things interesting. Avila is adorable as always, and the older girls seem to be enjoying school. We were able to spend more time than ever before with his sister, Mallory, and that was an absolute treat. She has been awesome with the kids and is gearing up to start nursing school in a few weeks. Time with her was definetly one of the highlights.
While we were there we spent a day with our friends Whit and Mavis, and headed up to ride the mountain bike trails up by Anthony Lakes followed by some rock climbing. It was an incredible day. It really doesn't get much better than that.
On the way home we stopped in Portland and got together with some friends for the night. Portland was great and it was so nice to be in a place with options and culture and things to do. For dinner we went to this AWESOME Cuban restaurant called Pambiche. I think Eli felt like he was back in Panama. The food was remarkable and it was so wonderful to spend some time with friends.
We're back in Triangle Lake now. Eli spent the day up on the hill, helping Dad fall some trees, and I've been helping out the museum that my parents help run. My mind has been spinning with all the things I need to do before we leave and all the things I need to make sure I have together. I got the web address for the school I'm going to be teaching at and to be honest, it sounds amazing! The address is: http://www.juntadeandalucia.
The kids seems so smart and I can hardly wait to meet them all...I just hope I'm not a disappointment to them. I'm hoping to get some teaching materials from my sister that might be able to help us out...now if only I could figure out what to pack...
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
RAIN in August?!?!
Who knew that it could dump several inches of rain in the middle of August? Of course, we are on the west side of Oregon where I'm beginning to recall that it does indeed rain 300 days of the year.
We're gearing up to head on a camping trip with Eli's brother and his family. It will be interesting to see how things hold up with the two little ones...but we're really looking forward to getting to spend some time with them before we leave. Hopefully we'll be able to get a break in the weather.
After the omnium Eli officially came down with strep throat and had no sooner finished his antibiotic than I had to go get some of my own. Sickness is such the pits! Illness seems to have gotten the better portion of Eli's racing season. We're considering the possibility of him getting a coach so he can get the most out of his training while we're in Spain. Just one of the many decisions we should probably make sooner than later. Who knows...maybe we'll be able to put some off until we get back from Spain and reality really sinks in...
We're gearing up to head on a camping trip with Eli's brother and his family. It will be interesting to see how things hold up with the two little ones...but we're really looking forward to getting to spend some time with them before we leave. Hopefully we'll be able to get a break in the weather.
After the omnium Eli officially came down with strep throat and had no sooner finished his antibiotic than I had to go get some of my own. Sickness is such the pits! Illness seems to have gotten the better portion of Eli's racing season. We're considering the possibility of him getting a coach so he can get the most out of his training while we're in Spain. Just one of the many decisions we should probably make sooner than later. Who knows...maybe we'll be able to put some off until we get back from Spain and reality really sinks in...
Sunday, August 3, 2008
High Desert Omnium
Well, after having this blog for a few months, we've finally decided we're ready to begin posting. We'll probably play catch up and fill you in on previous details of our summer as time progresses. However, for now we'll start with Eli's race this weekend.
We were fortunate enough to stay with Derek and Kim again while we were in Bend which was a huge bonus. It's always awesome to get to see them and spend some time together. After arriving on Wednesday evening, the four of us drove in to Redmond to get together with Eli's brother, Jeremy, at the Cascade Lakes Brewing Company. After many beers and greasy bar food ( a great way to prep for any race) Eli and Derek thought it would be a good idea to play horse shoes in the dark. Needless to say, after hitting the tree 9/10 times and the stake 2/10 times, they decided to call it a night.
After Jeremy came over on Friday morning, Derek took us to COCC to have our first-ever experience of Frisbee Golf. Half of the participants were clearly inebriated which created for some interesting rounds...however it was ironic that those of us who were sober ended up with the worst scores. Craziness, I know.
Afterward we met up with Mom and decided to...wait for it...go to another bar! It was here that Jeremy and Jeanna taught Derek and Eli how to play a serious game of shuffleboard. Let's just say that Team: Switzerland + Derek couldn't handle the shuffleboard finesse of Team: Dominators. Later we spent some more time with Mom, but it was kind of scrambled and random. Since she came down all the way from La Grande, we really wished that we could have gotten some more quality time with her...but so it goes with short weekends and LOTS of family.
Fast-forward a day and it's Eli's crit from the high desert omnium. Ross Weaver came out to watch along with Mom, Jeremy, Aunt Charlotte, and Jerry, so the "Eli cheering section" was huge (thanks also to Erik Edgar who finished 2nd overall this weekend!). Brian Bartel and Tim came down from la Grande to race, and it was great to see them and they only added to the Eli fan club. The race was awesome to watch and those guys went crazy- fast, averaging 28mph for 50minutes. That afternoon we met up with family at the Deschutes County Fair. It was fun to see the niece and nephew and their interaction with all the animals, but we were pretty exhausted so decided to head home with Derek and Kim.
This morning we got up and headed to Edison Sno-Park for the start of the road race. The field wasn't huge (44 riders), but it was kind of exciting because Ryan Trebon, aka TreeFarm, aka Kick a** cross racer, showed up to race. Eli managed to catch a break with 10 miles to go and ended up finishing 7th on the day. It was so awesome to see him do so well.
After the race we stopped by Lapine to say hi to some family and now we've finally made it home and are ready to get some SLEEP! Eli's throat is starting to bother him, so hopefully he can stay healthy for the State TT next weekend and Eugene Celebration in a few weeks.
Here's the link to some of our photos from this year's cycling season. We've got A LOT more, so let us know if you'd like to see them. http://picasaweb.google.com/Jeanna.Romer/2008CyclingSeason
We were fortunate enough to stay with Derek and Kim again while we were in Bend which was a huge bonus. It's always awesome to get to see them and spend some time together. After arriving on Wednesday evening, the four of us drove in to Redmond to get together with Eli's brother, Jeremy, at the Cascade Lakes Brewing Company. After many beers and greasy bar food ( a great way to prep for any race) Eli and Derek thought it would be a good idea to play horse shoes in the dark. Needless to say, after hitting the tree 9/10 times and the stake 2/10 times, they decided to call it a night.
After Jeremy came over on Friday morning, Derek took us to COCC to have our first-ever experience of Frisbee Golf. Half of the participants were clearly inebriated which created for some interesting rounds...however it was ironic that those of us who were sober ended up with the worst scores. Craziness, I know.
Afterward we met up with Mom and decided to...wait for it...go to another bar! It was here that Jeremy and Jeanna taught Derek and Eli how to play a serious game of shuffleboard. Let's just say that Team: Switzerland + Derek couldn't handle the shuffleboard finesse of Team: Dominators. Later we spent some more time with Mom, but it was kind of scrambled and random. Since she came down all the way from La Grande, we really wished that we could have gotten some more quality time with her...but so it goes with short weekends and LOTS of family.
Fast-forward a day and it's Eli's crit from the high desert omnium. Ross Weaver came out to watch along with Mom, Jeremy, Aunt Charlotte, and Jerry, so the "Eli cheering section" was huge (thanks also to Erik Edgar who finished 2nd overall this weekend!). Brian Bartel and Tim came down from la Grande to race, and it was great to see them and they only added to the Eli fan club. The race was awesome to watch and those guys went crazy- fast, averaging 28mph for 50minutes. That afternoon we met up with family at the Deschutes County Fair. It was fun to see the niece and nephew and their interaction with all the animals, but we were pretty exhausted so decided to head home with Derek and Kim.
This morning we got up and headed to Edison Sno-Park for the start of the road race. The field wasn't huge (44 riders), but it was kind of exciting because Ryan Trebon, aka TreeFarm, aka Kick a** cross racer, showed up to race. Eli managed to catch a break with 10 miles to go and ended up finishing 7th on the day. It was so awesome to see him do so well.
After the race we stopped by Lapine to say hi to some family and now we've finally made it home and are ready to get some SLEEP! Eli's throat is starting to bother him, so hopefully he can stay healthy for the State TT next weekend and Eugene Celebration in a few weeks.
Here's the link to some of our photos from this year's cycling season. We've got A LOT more, so let us know if you'd like to see them. http://picasaweb.google.com/Jeanna.Romer/2008CyclingSeason
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