What do you think this is, a Taco Bell?!

Thank God I was prepared for this long before leaving for Spain, but I have some advice for all those who are planning a trip to this country (especially my friends from Mexico and those living in the border states). When entering a typical Spanish restaurant, if you ask for a tostada, the mesero (waiter) may gladly bring it to you, but you will likely be in for a disappointment. All a "tostada" is in Spain is a simple slice of toast. No frijoles (beans), no lechuga (lettuce), no verduras (veggies), no queso (cheese), no sour cream and olivas (olives), nada. Just a simple slice of toast. That´s all. Maybe the waiter will gladly provide you some kind of spread for the top, but if you ask for any of the items listed above, chances are he´ll give you a funny look, not to mention dirty (My host mom often serves tostadas with meals; last night when I explained to her what a tostada was in Mexico, she seemed to be quite interested.). Also, do not consider it an error if you ask for a bag of tortillas (expecting what you would get at El Pollo Loco) and end up with enough omlettes to feed an entire family!

Don´t go yet; I have more advice for all you Spaniard wanna-bees:

Expecting typical Mexican tostadas and tortillas in Spain is one thing, but (above all) NEVER EVER even try to order a taco. A "taco" in Spain is used to define a swear word. For example, "Ella siempre dice muchos tacos a su novio." (She always says a lot of cuss words to her boyfriend.) The word "taco" is not a swear word itself, but if you ask someone on the street if there is a Taco Bell nearby, you will likely be turned away. There are absolutely NO TACO BELLS in Spain (JASON, PAY ATTENTION!). If you hear a bell ringing, it is likely a church bell or a clock tower; don´t expect to encounter Jose Ole or any street vendor wearing a sombrero. There may be a few Mexican restaurants around (we found one in Elche, but it was closed for the night), but chances are the food will not be as good as it is in California. In fact, if you run into a Mexican restaurant outside the Southwestern part of the US, the taste of the food may not even agree with you there (just ask my real mom!).

Here is the bottom line for all you Mexican food lovers:

SPANISH FOOD IS NOT MEXICAN FOOD AND MEXICAN FOOD IS NOT SPANISH FOOD! (The rice in the paella dish may have a similar taste, as Mexican rice also happens to be known as Spanish rice) but THERE ARE NO POLLO LOCOS NOR TACO BELLS IN SPAIN!

I hope I have made myself clear.

Sorry I kept you wating so long!

But I have been having way too much fun! Here I will describe in a nutshell what I have been doing lately: During the week after we got back from Granada we visited another ancient castle (on top of a hill) where we saw traces of ancient Spanish civilization. Afterward we visited the home of a playwright and then a vineyard where they showed us how grapes are cultivated to make wine. We were given a tour of the wine cellar and even tasted a sample of white wine. (No, Alexis, it is NOT the same as white grape juice; you would not like it AT ALL!). Two days later we went to a restaurant on a farm where there was a small bullring owned and run by a retired bullfighter. We ate paella for dinner (a Spanish rice dish mixed with vegetables, chicken, beef, and sometimes fish) and afterwards some of the students in my group tried their hand at bullfighting! Even though the bulls were only yearlings (baby bulls with no horns) it still looked pretty dangerous so I chose to watch and just take pictures (especially since I was wearing a skirt!) But we still had class the next day and the students who did show up (the ones who confronted the bulls) were limping and feeling quite a bit of pain (another reason why I never entered the ring). In fact, one of the girls was bleeding and did not show up for class at all. This past weekend was the festival of the hogueras (bonfires) so my host family took me to the beach in Santa Pola where they own a second flat and often come to stay during the summer. During the weekend we went down to the beach where one of my host sisters was babysitting a 5-year-old boy named Luciano. We accompanied him to the beach where I entertained him by gathering seaweed and pretending it was pasta. We then played for a while in the sand and when we returned to the house I taught him some kiddie songs in Spanish, French, and English (like most little kids he caught on pretty well and had so much fun with the songs!). For lunch my host mother made us paella (round three for me; she made us some before I went to the dinner preceding the bullrun.) and ate helado (ice cream) for dessert (I tell you, the desserts in Europe are WAY superior to those in America; all we eat is fatty, processed junk in favor of the real, authentic stuff that takes much longer to cook. One aspect of Spanish culture is that the typical family actually takes the time to prepare a meal and bring everybody together to enjoy it at the same time, since work schedules are way more flexible with a two-hour break for lunch and enough time to enjoy dinner as a family; life is not so fast-paced as it is in California. Maybe this is one reason why Europeans eat lunch and dinner so late during the day.). On Saturday morning my host mom took me to the mercadillos (open-air markets) where the fruit and produce is the best quality and the clothes and other necessary goods are sold for a fraction of what you would buy in a regular store (especially in America!). During the evening we visited some of her friends who live in Santa Pola and each of them greeted me with a kiss on each cheek (In Europe, it is customary that only two guys shake hands when meeting; a pair of two women and one man and woman kiss each other on both cheeks, even if they had never met before.). They offered us refrescos (soft drinks) and we talked about things that were going on in life back in Elche. There was a kiddie fair nearby so we took Luciano but he unfortunately forgot his fichas (tokens to go on rides and play games) but they were fortunately valid for the next day so I guess he went accompanied by someone else. To my surprise, he willingly accepted and did not shed one tear when told that he would have to come back the next day; at his age I would have cried a whole ocean of them! Well, that´s all for now. I hope to keep you posted for when another significant event comes up! Tataaaaaaah!

I ACTUALLY VISITED WONDERLAND!

Boy was I in for a treat two days ago! On Saturday we visited the Alhambra, an ancient Arab palace and gardens (complete with fountains and pools) that actually resembled the maze Alice in Wonderland went through leading up to the court of the Red Queen. There were beautiful flowers all around us (including bouquets of red roses and some white ones waiting to be painted red). But I think the Queen and her cards were sleeping, because I never saw her come out. Nevertheless, I felt as though I were a part of an actual Disney production, especially since I saw a Mickey Mouse balloon floating on the ceiling of one of the rooms in the palace. As soon as I am able to download my pictures, you will have a chance to find the hidden Mickey (By the way, did you know that there are actually hidden Mickey silhouettes in many of the Disney productions? Sleeping Beauty is one of them.).

To find out more, visit the link:

http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/HiddenMickey.html

TAKE MY PRINCESS FOR A RIDE ON HER CHARIOT!

After landing in Madrid, for awhile I felt as though I was riding in a moving vehicle, even when sitting and lying down. For example, while I was lying in bed at night, I could feel it moving backwards, even though it really wasn´t. Remember in the movie Runaway Bride when Julia Roberts´ character (Maggie Carpenter) is engaged to marry Bob (a high school football coach) and he asks some of his team players to "take his Princess for a ride on her chariot¨and they start running forward and carrying her while she is facing toward them? During the first few days in Spain, I felt as though God was taking me (His princess) for a ride on an invisible chariot.

After checking out of Madrid, we visited Toledo where we saw some Arab, Greek, Christian, and Jewish museums. After that, the bus transported us to Elche, where our host families were waiting for us. My mother´s name is Encarna (short for Encarnación), my father´s name is Jesús, and I have three host sisters named Maria-Jesús, Lorena, and Zaira. We celebrated Lorena´s birthday the night I arrived. She is the same age as me! After I spent two nights with my host family, I traveled to Granada for a weekend trip to see some age-old caves that have been adapted for modern living. For centuries, people have been living in caves to escape the cold temperatures of winter. I also saw a Flamenco show in a gypsy cave which was a lot of fun. The dance steps are similar to those of Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, except that one does not twirl the skirts as much (more emphasis is placed on the arm movements, which are similar to those of traditional ballet.). In Santa Fe, we saw some churches and the actual site where Christopher Columbus signed the document allowing him to travel to India by taking a western route (before discovering the Americas and back when it was thought that the world was flat). Speaking of a flat earth, I once had a dream where I was at the beach and my mom (my real mom) warned me never to go too far out into the ocean because if I swam past the horizon, I would fall off into nothingness. When I woke up and asked her if that was true, she responded: ¨Of course not, honey! Remember the world is round, not flat.¨

El sujeto de...FOTOS!

Although I am excited about leaving for Spain, I have some not-so-good news for you guys: since my digital camera is busted and because I would not feel comfortable carrying around an expensive device in a foreign country, I will be unable to post pictures on my blog until I am able to have them developed and scanned. However, I will label each disposable camera I use by dates of usage, keep a diary of what I do each day, and will gladly share my developed fotos with you all when I get back. In the meantime, I will explain in as much detail as I can about all my experiences and you will just have to use your imagination. Lo siento (Sorry!).

By the way (as you know), there are two different words in the English language that describe a written collection of daily experiences: diary and journal . Both of them contain a translation of the word "day" which are dia (Spanish) and jour (French). Let's just have some fun by mixing these interesting translations with the endings of each word (-nal and -ry). Then we will introduce a few new words to our English dictionary! Among these words will be: dianal, naldia, rydia, naljour, jourry, ryjour, etc. and maybe we can mix the two translations together: diajour and jourdia! Also, did any of you know that the word journal is the French word for newspaper? So whenever you go outside to pick one from the driveway each morning, be sure to think of me and say a little prayer...

Continue to play this little word game, and if you come up with any new words that are not listed above, feel free to let me know!

yadda...yadda...yadda..here's my BLOG!

I hope you like it. This is what I will be using for keeping in touch while I go to Espana this summer. I wish you all a good, long siesta and much FUN!