Sorry it's been a while since we've posted, but we haven't had much of anything to say lately. But, now we have an announcement: We'll be staying another year! This means we won't get to come home to visit this year, but we hope that will give any of you who want to visit us more time to plan a trip :)
Also, this summer, I will be teaching in Guernsey (a British island off the coast of France) for three weeks while Jon does an intensive Spanish course in a bigger city nearby. We're still deciding what to do the rest of the summer because it will depend on cash flow and visitors' schedules. We know we at least want to go to Italy, and maybe Portugal since we're so close to it.
Another big piece of news is that Jon will be teaching with me at the academy in the fall, which is great news for our bank account!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
Galician Culture Lesson #2: We want to eat!
This second installment is called We want to eat! It may well apply to all of Spain, not just Galicia, but I have only experienced it here.
First, it should be clear that there are two types of eating establishments: cafés and restaurants. Most cafés only serve food until 4 or 5 in the afternoon, and restaurants typically don't open until 9/9:30 p.m. Therefore, if you are hungry between the hours of 5 and 9, there aren't too many choices for you. We spent a few starving nights figuring this out before adjusting to the Spanish eating schedule.
The other phenomenon worth mentioning is how you're supposed to ask for food/a menu. Our first few attempts at lunchtime meals were a little frustrating, to say the least. We noticed that if you sit down and just order a drink, they will not bring you a menu and will not come back to your table without being flagged down. It's assumed that you only wanted something to drink.
To solve this problem, I thought, "I'll just tell them we'd like to eat, and they'll know to bring us a menu or ask what we would like." Since Queremos comer means "We want to eat", I thought this would be the easiest way to let them know we'd be needing menus. Wrong! We went to a smaller café in the area and said that we wanted to eat, they told us they didn't have anything, but when we looked around, a few people were eating sandwiches or other small things. The only explanations I could think of were that they suddenly ran out of food, or realized we were Americans and didn't want us there. So, we made our way to a second place, saw food coming out of the kitchen, tried again, and got the same response. At this point, I was completely baffled, hungry, and frankly, a little pissed.
Here is the explanation: Lunch is the biggest meal of the day in Spain, so many cafés serve big combination plates or 3-4 course meals*. Not all of them do, though...some just serve sandwiches and snacks. Little did I know that saying Queremos comer in this cultural context meant we wanted to have a big lunch, not the basic meaning of "We want to eat". After clearing this up with a friend, I discovered that we have to say Queremos picar "We want to snack/graze" or ask for their carta "menu"** if we want to order something smaller.
Master these conventions, and you should be able to eat what you want when you want.
*One interesting thing to note: if you do order one of these big meals, you get a table cloth, cloth napkins, silverware, oil/vinegar/salt&pepper, and bread. If you don't, you get nothing.
**Be advised that asking for the menú, which is what they call the 3-4 course meals, will also cause confusion.
First, it should be clear that there are two types of eating establishments: cafés and restaurants. Most cafés only serve food until 4 or 5 in the afternoon, and restaurants typically don't open until 9/9:30 p.m. Therefore, if you are hungry between the hours of 5 and 9, there aren't too many choices for you. We spent a few starving nights figuring this out before adjusting to the Spanish eating schedule.
The other phenomenon worth mentioning is how you're supposed to ask for food/a menu. Our first few attempts at lunchtime meals were a little frustrating, to say the least. We noticed that if you sit down and just order a drink, they will not bring you a menu and will not come back to your table without being flagged down. It's assumed that you only wanted something to drink.
To solve this problem, I thought, "I'll just tell them we'd like to eat, and they'll know to bring us a menu or ask what we would like." Since Queremos comer means "We want to eat", I thought this would be the easiest way to let them know we'd be needing menus. Wrong! We went to a smaller café in the area and said that we wanted to eat, they told us they didn't have anything, but when we looked around, a few people were eating sandwiches or other small things. The only explanations I could think of were that they suddenly ran out of food, or realized we were Americans and didn't want us there. So, we made our way to a second place, saw food coming out of the kitchen, tried again, and got the same response. At this point, I was completely baffled, hungry, and frankly, a little pissed.
Here is the explanation: Lunch is the biggest meal of the day in Spain, so many cafés serve big combination plates or 3-4 course meals*. Not all of them do, though...some just serve sandwiches and snacks. Little did I know that saying Queremos comer in this cultural context meant we wanted to have a big lunch, not the basic meaning of "We want to eat". After clearing this up with a friend, I discovered that we have to say Queremos picar "We want to snack/graze" or ask for their carta "menu"** if we want to order something smaller.
Master these conventions, and you should be able to eat what you want when you want.
*One interesting thing to note: if you do order one of these big meals, you get a table cloth, cloth napkins, silverware, oil/vinegar/salt&pepper, and bread. If you don't, you get nothing.
**Be advised that asking for the menú, which is what they call the 3-4 course meals, will also cause confusion.
Monday, March 24, 2008
1 Year Anniversary
We can't believe we've been married a year already! Time really flies, and does so steadily faster the older we get. It feels like we were just in Ojai with all of our family and friends. This has been the greatest year for both of us, by far, and we feel truly blessed to live the life that we do. They say the first year of marriage is the hardest, and if that's the case, we are headed for some of the easiest years ever. We never thought we would have all of the stories, pictures, and experiences in a lifetime that we've had in these 12 months. Here's to the next 50+ years!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Travel Pictures
We just got back from our trip to La Molina and Granada--there are some new pictures up on our flickr account, so check 'em out if you want. We also took some video, so we will try to add that to our YouTube account soon. Jon met up with Matt in Barcelona for a few days before I hooked up with them to go snowboarding. The weather was great, but the snow had turned to slush from the warm spell, so it was really difficult to snowboard on. But, we met some nice people and had a good time anyway. After that, we took an overnight train to Granada (in Andalucia-the south of Spain). We stayed in this amazing old house in the Albaicin (the old Moorish neighborhood) which looked up at the Alhambra (a big, famous Arabian castle).
We had a great time traveling, but it's nice to be back home in Lugo. I start working again on Tuesday, but Jon will have Matt to keep him company until Friday, the 29th. Also, check out Jon's radio show podcast on the left side of the screen, if you get a chance. That's all we have to report for now ;)
We had a great time traveling, but it's nice to be back home in Lugo. I start working again on Tuesday, but Jon will have Matt to keep him company until Friday, the 29th. Also, check out Jon's radio show podcast on the left side of the screen, if you get a chance. That's all we have to report for now ;)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Galician Culture: Lesson 1
I have decided to periodically throw in tidbits of the culture here that interest me, make me laugh, etc. This installment is titled, Greetings from Lugo
Many of us have learned from Sesame Street or a high school Spanish class that Hola is typically used to say "Hello", and Adios and Hasta luego are used when saying "Goodbye" in Spanish. So, imagine my surprise when I first heard people passing each other on the street saying Adios or Hasta luego. I thought the first two or three people were just a fluke, but after a couple of days, I realized it was EVERYBODY here. I never once heard an Hola come out of anyone's mouth. So, of course, I asked my fellow teachers, and they confirmed my observation. Still, I wondered why it is that these people say goodbye to each other even if it's the first time they've seen them in a while. Some have guessed it's because since it's a smaller city, and most people walk around, they expect to see each other again relatively soon. But, that doesn't explain the use of Adios. Others have said it may be that if someone says Hola it means the person wants to stop and talk, so they all say goodbye instead to indicate that they're just giving them a polite nod. I have yet to delve deeper into this question, but I am still curious about it. I am also finally getting the hang of it now after a few months. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to break the Hola habit.
Many of us have learned from Sesame Street or a high school Spanish class that Hola is typically used to say "Hello", and Adios and Hasta luego are used when saying "Goodbye" in Spanish. So, imagine my surprise when I first heard people passing each other on the street saying Adios or Hasta luego. I thought the first two or three people were just a fluke, but after a couple of days, I realized it was EVERYBODY here. I never once heard an Hola come out of anyone's mouth. So, of course, I asked my fellow teachers, and they confirmed my observation. Still, I wondered why it is that these people say goodbye to each other even if it's the first time they've seen them in a while. Some have guessed it's because since it's a smaller city, and most people walk around, they expect to see each other again relatively soon. But, that doesn't explain the use of Adios. Others have said it may be that if someone says Hola it means the person wants to stop and talk, so they all say goodbye instead to indicate that they're just giving them a polite nod. I have yet to delve deeper into this question, but I am still curious about it. I am also finally getting the hang of it now after a few months. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to break the Hola habit.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Spanish elections
I don't know if anyone in the US follows Spanish politics, but we just had the presidential election today. Luckily, the Socialist party candidate (Zapatero) won a second term, which is great because he is liberal, and during his last term he legalized gay marriage and withdrew Spain's support of the war, among other things. Here's hoping this is a sign of the way US elections will go this fall.
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