Rhymes with Borracha

Everyone likes surprises. For example flowers when it is not your birthday, or when your mother makes your favorite dessert. Surprises are a good thing... Usually. Unless it is 4 a.m. in the morning after a party at your house and you awake needing to use the bathroom to find a surprise on the floor. Im not talking about a hot abercrombie model of a man passed out or a $100 dollar bill. Im talking about the one thing that inspired the infmaous mexican song of all time that we all know and love ( the song that is). Cucaraccha! Thats right COCKROACHES! Much to my surprise at 4 a.m i saw what appeared to be something the size of enrique iglesias's mole crawling about full of life on the bathroom floor to which i shrieked outloud and awoke one of our friends from his drunken stupor. Within seconds i was greeted by grungy Spanish man coming to my rescue. ( i would have preferred a fabio like character but we can't be picky here ) At this moment i jumped towards him as the thing twirled and hurled itself with life on the blue tiel floor of our bathroom. I ran to the kitchen grabbed my yellow gloves and broom ready to swat the life out of this night dancer. Fully armored and in a matter of seconds i returned prepared for a fierce battle to which i found conviently smooshed on the underside of my rescureres 120 euro corte ingles boots. Upon seeing my superhero outfit he broke out laughing as we sat there laughing on the floor hysterically to which awoke the entire house to see our spectacle. Me in my pajamas, rain boots, gloves and broom, he with his pants and smooshed yellow victory on his leather boots.
Welcome to Spain everybody.

Love
Worldly Woman

Song of the Day
Magnet and Gemma Hays
Lay lady lay

Just a little off the top

Being in a foreign country always has its perks: the beautiful sights, the food, the people,the monuments, the ability to practice a language and really immerse yourself in the culture. Today will be my ultimate test of Spanish comprehension as i have decided that having a crazy mop on my head is in no way posh and needs to be fixed up to look feminine and professional. Thats right im going to get a haircut. I find that i have never concentrated so much on spanish vocabulary then my pending appointment today with Estrella Vinchez Salon. As long as my hair doesnt turn out like this:

Keeping the faith,spanish don't fail me now!

Gordita

7 letters, one meaning. Looking at this word what is the first thing that comes to mind? If you are a woman with some basic knowledge of Spanish, meaning you only slept through the second half of the semester, you will look at the root and feel disgusted. If you are a spanish woman you wil lbe cooing and smiling with joy when a spanish man whispers this in your ear. For me, it was the adverse effect. Sitting in a tapas bar with a few friends of all nationalities, a spanish friend of mine taking notice of my new dress leaned across the chair and whispered "gordita" in my ear. I mmediately i was offended and my face of jovial laughter turned to that of when you eat a sour lemon. PERDON i responded GORDITA! YO?  He thinking i was being coy repeated the phrase "si guapa estas muy gordita". Ia beyond the basic level of spanish and i know plain out that gordo means fat. At this point during the evening my arms became crossed i no longer wanted to eat my tapa and i was thouroughly offended as i do not consider myself in the least bit heavy. It wasnt until 3 minutes later and several glares that i came to know that the phrase gordita in spanish is a pet name that men use with their female friends and does not mean " hey lean off the churros".  This is just one of the many things to which sometimes becomes lost in translation. This has occured here in spain a few times to which once caused an argument and other time for my face to turn red as the girls on my team during a 2k ( yes i had to make crew reference). Needless to say im beginning to see that sometime our real selves are not always converyed correctly when we are speaking another language and nevertheless beyond the basic level of competency and fluency in a language that this indeed is another key component. As long as i dont offend anybody's momma i think we are fine here.
Spanish people as i have come to know are all about connections and being seen with people and saluting one another. Needless to say one evening on my adventures in the city i ran into a bar with a friend to which unknowingly a spanish acquaitance of mine was also there scarfing down the same free tapas and 1 euro drink. I failed to see him and salute him and left unknowing. Let me tell you, later i knew everything and then some. A long voicemail message in Spanish let me know that he had seen me for the evening and was offended beyond words. A simple mistake led to 2 voicemails, a meeting next day, 2 glasses of wine, 2 hour conversation in broken english, spanish and some catalan, and finally a solution and apology. Its the little things here about cultures you come to know, things that should be written in textbooks but never are. Perhaps in my free time i should look into doing this and give it a catchy name. Im open to suggestions.

xoxo
Worldly woman

Song of the day:
Gypsy Kings
Escucha Me

Stairway

This morning i found myself waking up on my own free will, exhausted after another Granada evening. The general nightlife here does not get started until about 11 p.m. for which the avergae college student you have already parked yurself at yur favorite seat, in your favorite bar and are starting to scan the room making goo goo eyes at any pretty girl you find. For the Spanish they are just waking up from their naps that extend into tehe evening. Crazy as it may seem this is the cultural norm here and its not uncommon to see grandparents out and about at 2 am going for tapas or dinner. Its shocking but true. Spain itself and the people are different and there seems to be here a central focus on family life,w hich is to be expected and appreciated as it is in the end one of the most important things that we have in our lives, our suport system. Spanish families in Spain are diverse as i have come to know this during a recent day expedition with a few friends to a small village outside of Granada. Life outside the walls of Granada proves to be vastly different but at the same time shares the picturesque back drop of the Sierra Nevada mountains. We accompanied a friend of ours to the family's estate which parts of i feel should be out of an old Clint Eastwood film while the pressing modernism could also be easily recognized. Needless to say i found myself at one point getting roped into making from scratch pasta carbona in a large tiled Spanish kitchen for a group of 5 who anxiously awaited my creation. An hour and a half later and pestering men coming in wanting to have a taste, i had supplied them with roasted eggplant, spinahc, tomaotoes bruschetta with orveja cheese to satisfy their hunger while the homemade ( I MEAN HOMEMADE!) sauce simmered away as i prayed this would come out right given my limited ingredients. Needless to say a dash of this and a dash of that provided them with looks of sheer enjoyment and pleasure on their faces as plate fuls after platefuls of the homemade meal disappeared. Relief came over me. Families in general are unique and different in their own special way especially in large families. This famiy had 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls. Talk about a line for the bathroom in the morning! Needless to say the family dynamic is different yet centered around a key component, food and tradition. On the property they make homeamde wine to which i saw aging in large wooden barrels while curing legs of serrano ham hung neatly above my head. In the kitchen sat a leg on the counter as they casually walked by sliced a piece off and continued on their daily tasks. The house was filled with old traditional oiled paintings and antiques cluttered, and i mean CLUTTERED, the marble steps and banister. A trip outside the city as nerve racking it is to be away from your immediate comfort zone can be was quite enjoyable. Times you feel like things do get lost in translation as they solely speak their native tongue and others disregard your presence and contine to speak in Granadino ( a local dialect in which they cut the words in  half and dont use conjugation).  to which you REALLY need to pay attention. However situations like these can cause a person to do one of two things. 1 shutter back in fear or light a fire under your keister ( butt, bottom, your ... well.. um ya know) and try to master the langauge further to where your comprehension is above 80%.  Needless to say i will use this saturday morning to get a workout in, practice my language, and explore a dried fruit store on my village.

Worldly Woman

Song of the day

Hanz Zimmer

"The Wheat"

Lost in translation

Living in a foreign country is like trying to make a Carbonara sauce. It takes time, you need the right ingredients, and make sure to measure quickly but get the flavors right. You may know the ingredients but the quanities may be off.  It is about precision. The same can be said for learning a foreign langauge let alone living in another country. Everyday i find new treasures and explore new possibilities which include finding a massive grocery store under a local department store. taking a day trip to Jaen with some friends, and figuring out that in Spain it is extremley bad luck to give a person just one cheek kiss. You learn these things slowly like a new language, the basc phrases, common principles, bus schedule and the like and you try to apply these skills. Yet now and then some things just plainly get lost in translation. The Spanish humor here is one that i have never known before and especially with its respect to women. The old men you see walking down the street holding onto their feeble withered 80 year old wives who sport a fabulous fur frock to go for a stroll. The younger generation walking with their girlfriend ( perhaps gf of the day haha) grasping tightly their upper arm or hand in their backpocket of their gf to show, "Hey now this is mine". Yet needless to say their humor is different. In spain men often joke about everything its a form of flirting and a huge part of the culture from instances when you walk into a door, your body, your outfit, customs, etc, anything is fair game for what americans would consider a snide comment or snide remark. In the beginning i thought i thought it was interesting and later i felt that i was being over sensitive, but as i grow to see it its actually a part of their culture. This for me is one of those things that just gets lost in translation, as i found it offensive.
This whole process is a learning experience to which has opened my eyes to many things but most importantly the general behavior of humanity with a focus on this culture , and everyday it fascinates me. Somedays it bores the hell out of me and makes me miss the monotonic occasionally sarcastic humor of the U.S, or in dire thirst for a little British humor.
I feel like a good episode of Top Gear (Brisiths version) would be a nice learning tool to any Spanish classroom. Perhaps i will implicate it in my teaching lessons :)

Until then.
Worldly Woman

Song of the day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0pAcwJt84E&NR=1
Feel - Jest juz ciemno

Feel - Jak anioła głos :)

Polish mornings and Spanish Nights

I awoke this morning to the chimming sounds of my alarm. It seemed louder thann usually buzzing about a constant reminder of the current hour 7:45. I rolled over towards the window and through the Spanish shades could see the frigidness of the morning creeping in. Then my eyes met the darkness of my lids as i snoozed for another 2 hours peacefully.Eventually i arose to my feet as the coldness of the marble floors in ym house shot up through my entire body and the 3 layers i produly sported. Another day here in Granada to which i began listening to Polish music which was pefrect and provoked deep thought and meditation on sucha  dreary day. The coldness in Spain and the constant rain is the type that makes you want to heat a hearty bowl of thick stew or pierogi, the two sound like heaven right now :). The minutes rolled by as i reflected and looked around my new apartment. I moved in 3 days ago in the pouring rain, 2 suitcases in hand, 2 bags of groceries and 20 Euros to get me to the new desitnation. A taxi quickly rumbled around the corner as a man with a mustache carried my bags and my soaked self to my new location. 5 Euros later and 3 gospel choir songs i was at my new location. 2 hours later i was moved in, signed my new lease to my new home, it was heaven. Now sitting at my desk this dreary morning listening to " Jak anioła głos" a polish song, im smiling as i think about all the things i could do today, should do today, and want to do today. However my bones and body remind me of the hectic past month as i sink deeper into my leather chair.
I decided this morning that during my time here i want to gain complete fluency in my language and will register for a course in Spanish here while i continue the job search. Additionally i decided i wanted to gain fluency in all my languages and refuse to sacrifice my knowledge of the others just for the sake of one, which provoked the following thought and list. What do i want out of life?" I compiled a list and set it aside chuckling from time to time at the list and order to which they revealed themselves. I suggest you all do the same. Bescuase when you stop and think about it, how short is life, how precious is it? How many opportuntiies do you have to go after what you really want, without all the facades or pressure of our current culture, which blidnly states that we go to school, we get a job, we work 9-5, we collect at 60 and then we retire to beach chairs in st. barts trying to live off of the money that the government didnt steal from us in taxes. A bold statement but the truth is it not? Whatever happened to the sense of adventure, the dreams we had as children when we had immaginations, no worries, and knew what we wanted , liked and loved, our three main verbs of our vocabulary. When did we lose it and most importantly how can we get it back? So i ask all of you as i have reflected myself, make a list, write it down, store it on your fridge but in a place you can see it to remind yourself of what is important to you in this life and remember always to let the beauty of what you love, be what you do.

Un besito
życzę ci miłego dnia
Worldly Woman

Songs of the day:

Feel-Jak anioła głos
Negramaro- Un passo indietro

The reality

Monday, and the streets are filled with people running to and fro with bundles or roses in their arms anxious to get home to their sweeties. Monday was the day of love, Valentines Day, but also the day that i was going to return to the United States. On this same day i signed the lease to my new apartment here in Granada. I found an apartment in a safe guarded apartment in the old Jewish sector of the city. It is quiet and tranquil and reminds me of my apartment in Trastevere. With the company of a local and money in hand i signed away my futture and finally got a place of my own and i couldn't be happier. I move in there today, Tuesday, and finally will be settled and have a place to call my own. I feel as if now the things i had seen for myself with my life in this country are finally beginning to fall into place, and upon this realization a burden is lifted from my shoulders and i can breathe clearly,
It is hard to believe that right now i could find myself tucked in my bed back in CT, yet instead i am listening to the pitter patter of the rain coming through the center terrace of my current "home". I am anxious to move into my own little slice of solitude and start my life officially here in Spain with a clear head and a clear soul. Amen.
Yesterday i began the process as well as applying for jobs, celebrated valentines day with my friends, met an Italian boy from Milan, and managed to fight off the urge to eat everything i saw in the valentines day display case at my favorite pastelleria. Its something about Valentines day that just makes you want to gorge yourself in chocolate, a proper excuse for any woman i would imagine :) Or perhaps i should have just made a seperate trip to Felipe! I have begun the job hunt, searching locally and internationally as thousands of jobs exist but it is a matter of finding the one that suits you best, especially with your goals in mind. A few friends andmyself celebrated this international holiday, international meaning every tom dick and bob were kissing some woman who overused her perfume on every corner of the street from here to Morocco. We went to Los Molinos and had a nice quiet dinner of roasted andalusian vegetables, corquettes, and the house speciality. Here in Spain they roasted their eggplants and then fry them slightly and serve them with molasses. They are by far one of the better things i have expereinced here in Granada! Afterwards our cute designer boots took us to my favorite pastelleria where a nice spanish man offered me to his friend who too was celebrating the holiday without a proper companion. I politlely declined as to Spanish men in general here, in addition to their over masculine persona makes me want to join the local monastery in San Jermonio. However the nice Italian man i met while looking at teh same apartment has proved to be a nice addition to my circle of friends i have found here in Granada.
Well at this point i must continue to gather my things, suitcase in hand and set off to start my new with with my own four walls in Realejo. i can feel the air becomes a little lighter as it streams in through the open window and gently tosses starnds of hair about my face.

Un besito
Worldy Woman

Song of the day
Linkin Park
Burning in the Skies

Four letter word

This morning on my daily walk down the mountain to the gym i saw a woman in the corner alley with a tub of paint and a long wooden brush. The anguish on her face said it all as i walked by and read the four letter word, that would make most women blush and feel disgusted. She turned to me slightly and shamefully said " Hombres!". I couldnt help but feel that this view at 8 am in the morning was slgihtly appropriate unfortunately. Since my time in Spain i have noticed a considerable difference between men and women on the level of equality. It's kind of sickening in my opinion and you see it most places. For example at the gym i made such a big fuss because i was a woman lifting weights, and then became the topic of conversation for a group of 5 men who huddled together watching the display of feminine strength. It was interesting and continues to surprise me everyday that walking in certain areas of town men feel the need to call out to you like a cake on display. Its not to say that all men share in this disapointing behavior but the vast majority im affraid so. I had confided in a local here to which i have become friends with as to my new fidnings to which he simply replied. in Spanish "In Spain we have a phrase. "El hombre propone, la mujer supone." The man proposes and the woman chooses. Basically put as he told me the men have the power while the women only have the freedom to choose exactly it is that men provide them options with, Interesting i thought doubtfully that was until this past evening when i was reminded 5 times to walk closer, taken by the arm when crossing the street, and despite my vast knowledge of the city had to go in the direction that the men chose not mine, which was faster. It is the norm here sadly for this generation that women are condemned to the household, child bearing, and cooking. They continued to joke about this in their macho form until i calmly replied, "HAA Non esta mujer." (Not this woman :)
Needless to say their gapping mouths provided me with enough satisfaction as i cooly walked away in the opposite direction no longer interested in their company.
Enough of my female rant. In other news i am searching for a new apartment in the center of Granada and have looked at a few but im pretty sure given the basic height of some of these places that one of Snow whites dwarves lived there! I'm looking at 2 more places today and one tomorrow morning and hope to be settled in by Monday. ( Fingers cross and pray for it) Additionally I have provided myself and readied myself with a basic plan which is now in full swing as i am beginning to master a daily routine. However should all of this go up in smoke and if all else fails i will join  the San Jermonio nunnery and you can refer to me as Sister Stefania. Its has a nice ring to it but i doubt i could kick all my bad habits. ;)

Un besito
Sister Stefania

Song of the day:
El Canto de Loco
"Puede Ser"

Decisions Decisions

I have left the comfort and warmth of the resiencia. TEFL in hand i moved into a slightly ecletic place about 3 minutes from my previous residence with one of my friends. I will continue to look for a different apartment right now. In the meantime i will look for jobs and prepare for my life here abroad continuing to make a series of difficult decisions which i guess are a part of being an adult. I sit in a cafe currently contemplating my decisions i have made and will continue to make,. I take a long sip of cafe cortafo peering nerviously at the series of pastries line dup in the glass case, calling to me loudly. I watch a series of women press their cold faces agaisnt the window of the pastry shop as their warm breath leaved white clouds on the glass and i smile. I always see women in this fashion when i come to this local shop but never men. My stomach growls as it reminds me of the current hour as i continue to contemplate, scan local listings for apartments and look at the series of opportunities that lay before me. Endless opportunites that with an email and a copy of a piece of paper could open the door to a thousand new experiences.

Un besito
Worldly Woman

Song of the day
Ray Lamontagne
Hold you

I GRADUATED!!

I GRADUATED FROM MY TEFL PROGRAM WITH HIGH REMARKS!!!!! IM SO EXCITED AND FEEL LIKE I AM ON CLOUD 9!The perfect song to describe this sweet moment.
Bittersweet symphony by the Verve.

It is hard to believe that the course is now complete. My life for the past four weeks had been a complete whirlwind as i crammed so much infrmation into my head and got a taste for the life as TEFL teacher.. Upon completition of the course i could not be happier with my experience here in Granada and looking at the possibilities that lay ahead in the TEFL world i have decided to STAY! In the current area, in Spain, and the other countries i have inquired about there is a dire need for TEFL teachers and i am intrigued about the thought of deferring graduate school for a year to explore these options. In the end the world is an oyster, you have but one life to live so why not enjoy it doing something that you love. Im making this decision i reflected back on my senior quote from highschool which clearly stated:
"Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do".
At this point i intend to do just that. Though nothing is guaranteed and most things and outcomes remain a mystery, i am intrigued and intend to handle them head on. Let the adventure begin!

Sending love
un besito
Elated Elena.

A love affair

A love affair usually is a sweet memory forever embedded in our heads of a past lover a man or a woman to which we consider unforgettable. Today i had a sweet love affair. The name: Felipe. Unforgettable and oh so sweet as i gazed out on the small town below me from the mountains. I wish i could say that Felipe is a tall handsome man whith strapping muscles and a thick accent but instead it is the name of a pastry i bought at Pastelleria Tradicional de Real. Covered in sugar and filled with a sweet custard inside, it was deliciously amazing, perhaps one of the best i have had thus far. To make the sensation better it was wrapped and given to me by a strapping man that was the baker. That is right ladies a MAN that can bake. Needless to say our love affair eventually had to come to an end as the hot sun began to beam down dictating the length of our passion. At least now i know where i can get it. HAHA Felipe was a perfect escape, a much needed one since i have received my reviews today and am pleased to announce that i PASSED ALL OF MY EXAMS!!! I have completed the course with flying colors and will be properly awarded my certificate at the pinning ceremony in addition to other honors. I am impecably happy to which words could not describe yet in the back of my head im secretly plotting my celebration festivities this evening which involve the following.

Sweet Decadent Dessert

A long rendezvous around the city of Granada

Tapas and Sangria

Jazz show with a local friend

Dancing in the fountain

Laughing to my hearts content.

Tis an amazing emotion to which has not hit me 100% completly yet but im sure that my elation will arrive soon enough, time will tell. 

Until then i shall bask in the moment of my accomplishments in the hot Spanish sun and let the warmth seep in and relax feeling accomplished and proud. Sangria in hand, there is no better feeling.

Mucho Amore

Worldly Woman

song of the day

Walking on Sunshine

Says it all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bziv4sXXdOU&NR=1&feature=fvwp
Exams tomorrow for certification