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
Monday, November 24, 2008
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
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