Zaragoza
Sorry I am a little behind! I have been planning an “American Culture” week and my school, tutoring a bunch, learning to cook new things (recipes to follow shortly!), started running again since beach season is just around the corner, plus a lot of drama with my crazy roommates (Only 2 months left with them!) [...]
Salmorejo recipe
My first attempt at salmorejo! I think it came out pretty good! So I just made salmorejo for the first time, and it ultimately was a success! Salmorejo is a very traditional dish from Córdoba in Andalucía in southern Spain where I live. It is a cold cream-like soup made from tomatoes, bread, olive oil, [...]
Romance de la luna, luna
Espejo (Córdoba) Spain I found this photo online that someone took of the pueblo where I work in Spain. A few days ago there was something called a super moon, where the moon is the biggest it has ever been over the past twenty years. Luckily, someone was prepared and captured a beautiful photo of [...]
Eating out in Spain
My friend Marie and me enjoying a long lunch in Toledo in 2009 (paella of course!) So in an attempt to continue blogging about cultural differences between the US and Spain, I figured I would go ahead and write about something pretty basic: eating out! Spain has a very big café/restaurant/bar culture. In fact, most [...]
The Road goes ever on and on…
Illustration by Alan Lee “The Road goes ever on and onDown from the door where it began.Now far ahead the Road has gone,And I must follow, if I can,Pursuing it with eager feet,Until it joins some larger wayWhere many paths and errands meet.And whither then? I cannot say” This is a poem from Tolkien’s The [...]
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Happy día del verde (Day of Green) according to my students! Today we celebrated St. Paddy’s day in my school, which was a fun experience, to say the least. This mostly consisted of coloring clovers and rainbows, as well as trying to explain to my baffled kids what a leprechaun is. However, I think their [...]
Auxiliares de Conversación-The Run Down
Ok, so if you haven’t already figured it out from my numerous posts, I am teaching English in Córdoba, Spain this year on a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education with a program called the Auxiliares de Conversación. I think my official title is a “North American Language and Culture Assistant.” Basically this means that [...]
8 things I wish I knew when I was 22
So I was perusing the interwebs this afternoon when I came across this fabulous post about traveling a lot while you’re young! (You can find the original article here). Since I have inadvertently followed this guide almost word for word, I thought I would go ahead and share it’s (our) wisdom here hehe. Gotta love [...]
Tío Pepe-The World’s Most Famous Sherry!
So last weekend when I headed down to the coast for Carnaval in Cádiz, I also got to spend some time in Jerez de la Frontera with my friend Jen. Now Jerez is famous for three things: flamenco, horses, and sherry! On Sunday before heading back to Córdoba, I figured I would tour a sherry [...]
5 things I learned this week…
1. Men here have no shame when it comes to dressing up for Carnaval. I honestly think it’s a holiday where Spanish men can display their inner cross-dresser! But hey, gotta love a grown man in a dress, rock on! 2. If you want to say one billion in Spanish, it’s not “un billón,” rather [...]
¡Ay Ay Ay Carnaval!
Ok, Carnaval. Where to even begin?! Carnaval means something entirely different outside of the United States. No weird people traveling from city to city, no faulty rides, no rusty Ferris wheels, no cheesy entertainment and certainly no deep fried twinkies (but maybe that’s just something we do in the south). Anyways, Carnaval in Europe is [...]
Happy International Women’s Day!
As a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, the oldest women’s college in the States, I think it is my duty to post a little something for International Women’s Day. My feminist college student side gets all riled up about stuff like this! Being a woman in this day and age may seem to be a [...]