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!
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