"Importante" is right!

After more than 5 weeks of stealing internet in a nearby park and living off of my iPhone connection, we finally have internet in the piso! I think I'm gonna download a bunch of movies n TV shows today just because I can haha. Skype sessions will start soon, so drop me a line if you'd like a call and I'll see if I can pencil you into my oh-so-busy schedule (only kidding...I don't really have anything at all to do right now).

Also, I will finally be starting teaching this coming Tuesday, October 4th. Everyone else starts Oct 3rd but that day is fiesta in Rioja hahhh. As such, this will be my last official weekend of summer vacation (though I do have 3 day weekends most every weekend...not to rub it in or anything ;) ). Gonna have to make it a good one! Hopefully lots of good weather, time at the beach, and a night out!

So much for the "trim" that I asked for :( Adios to my long locks

I went to get my hair cut and told the lady to just cut off the dead ends and this is what she left me with! I couldn't see how much she was cutting off at first because she was behind me and I couldn't see the hair that was falling to the floor. Suddenly she combed some of my hair forward and was about to cut off a huge chunk and I stopped her. 

"Uhhhh are you seriously about to cut all that?"

"Yeah, just trust me. It's gonna be cute."

CHOP.

I'm pretty sure my eyes almost popped out of my head at that moment. She's lucky it turned out cute because otherwise I would be far more resentful.

With year number two in Spain comes piso number two…and let’s hope it’s in better shape than the one from last year! As you’ll recall from what I’ve repeatedly been told was MY BEST BLOG ENTRY, my apartment last year was absolutely falling apart. By the end of my time there, something was breaking just about every week…and not just little things, but important ones. Needless to say, Endika and I will be living in a new piso this year with two other people who we have yet to find.

I moved into the new place a little over 5 weeks ago and have been here by myself getting set up, deep cleaning, and most of all trying to entertain myself without the internet haha (though I did recently discover a place nearby where I can steal it!). Endika arrived a week ago and now we're looking for roommates.

Here’s a virtual tour of the new place...

View from the entryway.
The kitchen is the first door on the right, the big bathroom,
the second door on the right, and my room, the first visible
door on the left. To the immediate left of where I was standing
to take the picture is the living room.

The living room

The other side of the living room.

Yes, someone actually let their child put these stickers

all over the wall and now I can't get them off.

The kitchen!

Nice and cleeeeean...for now while I have only one roommate

The other side of the kitchen

The laundry room

My room from the doorway

The wall of flags lives on!

More of my room

KT, your license plateee!

The other side of my room.

Gigantic desk that I'm obsessed with

 Main bathroom that's right across the hall from my room

There ya have it! From what I can tell so far, this year is shaping up to be quite different from last year. While I will still be working in the same school in Rioja with the same kids, I will not be going from house to house teaching afternoon classes like I did last year. Instead, I will be working in a language academy that is owned by the parents of my friend Manu. While I don't know details yet, as of now, I'll be teaching probably twice a week in helping students to prepare for the Cambridge English Certification exam...probably the most widely known and well-respected English certification there is.

In addition, this year I'll also be spending 3 days a week in a class at the university. I'm taking a class to prepare me for the equivalent of the Cambridge certification, but in Spanish. It's called the DELE, which stands for Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera. There are 6 levels of the exam: A1 being the most basic, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2, the most advanced. I will be attempting the C2! AHHH! This exam "accredits an advanced knowledge of the language which allows communicaton in all situations requiring advanced use of the language and a knowledge of cultural background," (source: http://www.dele.org/?page=dele/superior-level) and basically certifies that your knowledge of Spanish is comparable to that of a native speaker. In other words, I'm gonna have to study my ass off this year. Passing this test would be probably the coolest thing I can think of accomplishing, as it has been a goal of mine ever since like middle school to be fluent in Spanish. I could be considered more-or-less fluent right now, but there would be nothing better to me than to fine-tune my Spanish and to have CERTIFIED fluency. My classes start on October 10th, so I'll update on how it goes as soon as we start!

By the way, I hope y'all like my blog's facelift. There are still some minor things about it that I need to fix, but overall, not bad! And yes, I know the email updates aren't currently working. I'm in the process of fixing that, so bear with me and hopefully you'll be receiving those shortly. But in the meantime, catch up on your reading cuz I've blogged a few times already. Since the new layout is really moreso for a photo blog, I'll probably be posting more often with single photos and shorter entries. Ideally, it'll turn into a photo of the day kinda thing :)

My latest creation...a homemade earring holder!

This little project was quick, cheap, and super easy...and the result is a nice touch of decoration for my room! 

Supplies: 

Wire mesh grease splatter guard - bought mine for €1.20

Ribbon - €0.75

Scissors

Screwdriver

Lighter

 

Process: 

1. Using the screwdriver (or other tool depending upon the splatter guard you have), remove the handle of the splatter guard.
2. Poke two SMALL holes in the mesh near the edges from which you would like the ribbon to extend (using either the screwdriver or the scissors).
3. Cut 2 pieces of ribbon to desired length.
4. Use the lighter to slightly burn one end of each ribbon so it is easier to fit through the small hole you have made in the wire.
5. Thread one piece of the ribbon through either hole.
6. Use the lighter to adhere the burnt end of the ribbon to the backside of the ribbon...I suppose you could also sew or glue the two pieces together.
7. Tie the two pieces of ribbon into a bow.
8. Hang on wall.
9. Hang earrings and admire your new earring holder! 

 

TA-DAHH! No more digging through your jewelry box to find the right pair! Enjoy :)

The view of Calle Santiago from my bedroom window

One year ago today at 6:30 pm, I excitedly and nervously watched as the bus that I was on from Málaga entered Almería from a high bridge and I saw it for the first time. The port and beautiful, blue Mediterranean on my right. The thousands of dusty-looking buildings all crowded together on my left. The bus wound down the road until I was no longer looking down on the city from above but I was actually in it. We pulled up to the Almería bus station. I remember the moment perfectly. It was bright and sunny (as always) and I specifically remember the way the sun reflected off the big, silver A-L-M-E-R-Í-A on the side of the building. Jose and I got off the bus, collected all 140+ pounds of luggage that I had brought from under the bus, lugged it to the curb, and waited for his mom to come pick us up. I was finally there.

I could go on and on about that first day as I remember it vividly…down to the very clothes that I was wearing. Every detail of it seems to be etched permanently into my mind. I remember going into the piso for the first time. Tomás was the only one there and he gave Jose and I a tour. Tomas' excessive use of “calidad,” “exagerao,” and “primacho” were just about the only thing I picked up from the conversation as he was EXTREMELY difficult to understand. I remember thinking, oh my gosh, when Jose leaves, I’m so screwed trying to talk to this guy haha.

But anywayy, I’ve decided that on the one year anniversary of my arrival in Almería, it’s finally time to publicly unleash the TALE of my first night here. Some of you readers may have already heard this story, but as I didn’t want anyone (especially my Mom haha) to worry about my safety last year, I decided it was better not to publish this events of this particular evening haha. However, enough time has passed, I’ve put aside my embarrassment, and I think that I’ve proven to my family that they don’t have to worry about me, so it’s story time!

Now let’s get back to my first day. Jose and Tomás helped me get all my luggage up to my new room in the super-piso, 7ºF of Calle Nuestra Señora del Mar 73. In that moment, Tomás didn’t say anything about my bags, but later in the year he eventually told me that he thought I was crazy for having brought so much stuff haha. Jose told me he would come get me later to TAPEAR, or go out for tapas, and then he took off. I began trying to get somewhat settled into my room when Tomás asked me if I needed to go to CARREFOUR, the grocery store. I said yes, and on the way we met up with Juanmi. The two of them were buying drinks for what would be my first fiesta in Almería and more importantly, my first PREVIERNES!

After getting back from the grocery store, I quickly showered, got ready, and then Jose picked me up for dinner. We went to a couple different tapas places and he showed me some of the typical dishes here. When we got back to the apartment, much to my surprise, there were already a few people there in the living room. It was Tomás, and the two new faces were Fran and Martín. Martín and I had been in touch via facebook in the weeks leading up to my arrival, so in a way I already felt like I somewhat knew him. From the very first moment, I felt comfortable talking to him and could tell that we were going to get along really well. Fran too was super nice and I could tell immediately that he was going to be one of the crazier ones in the group. Later, Juanmi, who I had already met at the grocery store, and a guy named Joan showed up. It was me and 6 dudes. Little did I know, that is basically how the entire year would be as far as going out goes haha.

I was trying to take in as much as I could. My ears were still not completely used to hearing Spanish as this was only day 7 in Spain for me and and I was having to get used to all the new voices. Side note: that’s something interesting that I discovered—that my ears really had to adapt to each different person’s voice before I could understand them well. i.e. in listening to Tomás and then jumping to a conversation with Martín, I would often miss the first bit of what Martín said as my brain was having to readjust to a different accent. I’ll admit that most of the conversation that night blew right past me.

I did lots of listening and very little talking that first night. Any time I did open my mouth to say something, I felt like the room got silent and everyone was listening to me. Embarrassing.

But anyway, the hours were just flying by and I was getting more tired by the minute. Having spent the whole day traveling, unpacking, and just generally being rushed, it’s safe to say that I was exhausted. I looked at my watch and it was already 2:30AM so I concluded that we weren’t  gonna be going out that night. WRONG! 3:00 rolled around and they busted out with, ok it’s time to go downtown! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Were they being serious? Yep. Very serious. At that point I had ZERO desire to go, but at the same time I didn’t wanna be the laaame new roommate who doesn’t even go downtown. So, I sucked it up, got myself motivated, and our at-this-point druken mob headed out the door and made the 20 minute walk to the centro.

I have no idea what bar we went to that night as the tiredness and effects of the alcohol had consumed me. The only thing I remember well is that I made it about an hour and a half before I told Jose that I was done and ready to go home. Juanmi offered to walk me to the taxi stand because he knew the doorguy (surprise, surprise haha) and it would be easier for him to get back inside.

When we got to the taxis, he told the driver my address and told me to get in the car. Now this is the point in the story where I am unable to rationalize what I did haha. I so brilliantly told Juanmi that I didn’t need to take a taxi—I knew where the apartment was.

“ARRIBA Y A LA DERECHA,” I repeated. Up the street and to the right.

“SEGURO?” he asked me. Are you sure?

“Yep.”

“Seguro?”

“Si si siii.”

While it is true that my apartment was up the street and to the right, let it be known that there are about a million and one ways that you can go up and to the right. The truth is that I had absolutely, positively, ZERO idea of how to get there. It was my very first day in a town that I had never been in before in my life. Of course I had no idea how to get there. But, at my insistence, I left for the house on foot. Alone. At 4:30 in the morning.

WHAAAAT on earth was going through my head? Not only is it retarded seeing as how I had no freaking clue of how to get home, but oh my gosh, that is just about the most dangerous thing I have ever done in my entire life. Thank God there were no crazies and that I didn’t walk straight into a bad neighborhood.

Soooo, I walked. And I walked. Aaaand I walked some more. Realized I had no idea where I was. Oh and I forgot to mention that I had left my phone in the apartment. Kept walking. Yep, still walking. Getting frustrated, let’s try running. Ouch busted open my toe. Back to walking. Time for a new plan. Find Carrefour and from there I know how to get home. Ok sign that says Carrefour is to the right, let’s see where you lead me. Thanks for the follow-up signs. NOT. Just as lost as ever. Let’s try asking someone. Oh yeah, I forgot I’m way too flustered to be able to understand Spanish right now. Oh well hello there sun. This is depressing. Time to take a break from walking…just long enough to get a good cry in. This isn’t gonna solve anything, back to walking. One last attempt at asking someone. This cafeteria looks like a good place. Good morning to all of you who enjoyed a good night’s sleep in your beds last night. Why yes, I have in fact been walking around all night with a bloody foot looking for my own freaking house. Could one of you please tell me how to get to Carrefour? Just down this street? Oh my gosh, am I really actually about to get home? YESSSSSSS.

I don’t think there was a single moment in the entire rest of the year that I was ever as happy as to see that building. What should have been a 20-minute walk turned into a THREE-HOUR-LONG self-guided walking tour of pretty much the entire city of Almería. I had left the bars at 4:30 and didn’t get home until 7:30. Martín and Tomás were already soundly asleep in their beds. Jerks.

Baaaasically, the conclusion of the story is I’m a huge idiot. The good news is I did scare myself enough to never pull any sort of stunt like that ever again, so there’s no need for anyone to worry for my safety. And keep in mind this was all a year ago with nothing similar ever happening. So really, don’t worry! In fact, you should laugh because it’s actually really hilariously unfortunate! I always wanted to post about it but knew it wouldn’t be especially reassuring for the madre haha. But on the one year anniversary of it happening, I couldn’t NOT write about it haha!

While I didn’t enjoy that little late night jaunt when it was happening, it made for quite the story the next day. The roommates were quite amused and they reminded me of that night’s events often!

One year later, I’m fortunate enough to find myself back in Almería with another whole year ahead of me.  While it’s definitely going to be a very different year, I’m sure that it will be just as fun-filled and unforgettable as the first. I’m gonna stay in tonight and reflect on year one here, so no worries, there’s no chance of a repeat of the events of my first night ;)

Kite Surfers
View from El zapillo

Well hello again! After a more than 3 month hiatus from blogging, I’m backkk! Unfortunately for all of you loyal readers that means I’m no longer in the states :( First, I’d like to say thank you to everyone back home for making this summer absolutely perfect! I was only home for 2 months and I spent half the time going crazy about my visa, but I seriously don’t think I could have enjoyed being home any more than I did.

While I might one day write an entry about that whole crazy process and what happened, I’d rather not relive all that nonsense right now. Let’s just leave it at that I don’t know whether the people working for the US government or the Spanish government are more retarded and incompetent. Instead of telling that story, I think my time would be better spent filling y’all in on what I’ve been up to over here my first month back.

On the night of August 8^th, we had a little going away dinner at my house despite the fact that I didn’t know whether I would actually be leaving the following day or not. I pulled an all-nighter that night finishing up my packing, organizing my room, assuring myself that I would be able to sleep on the potential flight the following day, and more than anything, wondering whether or not I would really be leaving.

Neal and I got to the consulate in Houston the following morning at 8:30 before it opened to see if they had my visa ready. The lady in reception knew exactly who I was when she saw me as we had communicated several times in the previous weeks both in person and over the phone (she HATED me haha). I didn’t even have to say anything and she went straight to the back to see if my visa was done. After about 20 minutes of waiting, she came back with my visa! I was floored. I really didn’t think that they were going to have finished processing it, but they did! I took one look at the visa and realized that it said “ALEXANDER” instead of “ALEXANDRA” but I wasn’t about to alert her to that just in case she wanted to take it back, change it, and make me miss my flight. *Side note: I’m virtually certain she misspelled it on purpose just to make my life a little bit more difficult.* Anyway, I just stood there wide-eyed, told her she was a life-saver (even though she actually deserved to be punched for having been a huge jerk to me), and then ran off with it before she could reconsider and take that precious passport back from me.

Floating in the Mediterranean

I don’t have too much memory of the rest of that day as I was sleep deprived and in shock that I really was leaving and that all my goodbye’s the previous night had been for real. I flew Houston to Charlotte, North Carolina, and then Charlotte to Madrid. Upon arriving in Madrid, I was greeted with the surprise that they had lost my luggage. YAY! However, having lived in Spain for a year and knowing how things work around here as well as having pulled an all-nighter the night before, I had prepared for that with several days worth of clothes and other necessities in my carry-on. It actually ended up working out for the better as I didn’t have to worry about toting my luggage around Madrid…they just delivered it directly to me the next day!

Everything from the first week is pretty much a big blur as I tend to struggle a lot more travelling east than west. I don’t typically require a whole lot of sleep, but that first week I was getting like 10+ hours a night and still going to bed exhausted (travelling west I just end up waking up at like 6am for the first week, which I much prefer).

I was living at Lulu’s house when I first got here, so I spent a lot of time with her, Luis, Ceci, Alberto, and Juan. The coolest thing I got to do with them was go to the CLUB DE MAR, which is the equivalent of the Galveston Yacht Club or Boat Club, and go swimming, have lunch, and then go out on Luis’ dad’s boat. We went out right in front of PASEO MARÍTIMO which is like the boardwalk along Almería’s main beach, EL ZAPILLO. I always run along the boardwalk and lay out at Zapillo, but have never been able to see it from the water. It is incredible. We anchored the boat out in the water, put on some music, cracked open some cold(ish) beers, and just enjoyed the afternoon jumping off the boat, swimming, and just generally acting like retards haha.

Lulu!

Captain Luis

Alberto and I struggling to tread water while drinking beer haha

Ceci and Lulu

It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon in Almería, in my opinion. I found myself just floating there, looking around thinking, “Wow. This is where I live.” This was by no means the first time I’ve thought that, but it was the first time in a while I had been reminded of how gorgeous Almería is…and seeing it for the first time from the water made it seem even more surreal. 

My next adventure was my first FERIA, or fair. The concept of a feria is a litte difficult to explain as there isn’t really anything comparable in the US. Basically, every town has a Saint and/or Virgin(I’m not sure if it’s one or the other or if it’s both), and the feria is the celebration of that Saint/Virgin. The Virgin of Almería is la VIRGEN DEL MAR, or Virgin of the sea. From my experience, I would define a feria as an over-the-top-10-day-long excuse to get drunk during the day and ride carnival rides at night before going to the way too crowded discoteca that has been set up in an oversized tent-on-steroids at the fairgrounds. That’s the feria in a nutshell.

 



My first feria wasn’t the feria of Almería, but the feria of Málaga. I headed out on Wednesday, August 17^th with JUANE, Jose’s roommate, and his friend JUANMA. We got in around 3, went to grab some lunch, and then headed out to the FERIA DE MEDIODÍA, or the daytime feria. In Málaga, the feria de mediodía takes place in el CENTRO or downtown. If it’s your first time at a feria, you’re GUARANTEED to be overwhelmed. There’s so much going on it’s hard to keep track of it all. First off, the streets are packed to the max with people—but it’s not just people as you see them every day. The traditional thing to do is to dress as a GITANO or gypsy. While it’s not as common to see this amongst adults, it is pretty common, not to mention ADORABLE, to see kids whose parents have dressed them this way

Calle Larios--Feria de mediodía in Málaga

If you’re a girl and you’re not full-on dressed as a gypsy, you’re pretty much, at a minimum, required to at least have an ABANICO, or fold-out-fan, and a big obnoxious flower in your hair. In addition to normal people crowding the streets, there are vendors with huge carts, street performers in elaborate costumes, tents selling crappy food and drink, and small marching bands walking around with people in pursuit singing and dancing to typical songs of the feria to which only I seemed to not know the words. It is quite the spectacle!

Me with the barrels of Cartojal!

The defining characteristic of the feria of Málaga is a little thing called CARTOJAL. Anyone who’s been there knows exactly what I’m talking about. It’s an overly-sweet, white wine made in Málaga that is sold in plastic bottles and with little bitty shot glasses from which to drink it. It’s sold at like 7 euros/bottle and is basically the only thing anyone drinks. It’s bearable for a little while, but the excessive sweetness starts to get to you quickly. Also, if it sits for too long and gets warm, it’s pretty disgusting. I think that’s how everyone rationalizes getting so drunk. ”Officer, I had to drink the Cartojal that fast. You know how bad it tastes when it gets warm. And then with all the heat we had to buy a couple more bottles…”

Jose with the bottle of Cartojal and his mini-glass

Feria de mediodia Mon (8/22) in Porrón
Me, Alberto, Juan, Barby, Luis, Random, Patri, Lulu, amd Ceci

The feria de mediodía of Almería is quite different from that of Málaga. In Almería, as of 2008, it’s illegal to drink in the streets. As such, it looks really different. While there are some booths set up selling food and trinkets, people pretty much just go downtown to the same old bars. To me, it seemed just like any other night of going out…except like 9 hours earlier and you end up with a hangover at midnight. While I did have fun the two days that I went, as far as the feria de mediodía goes, I much preferred that of Málaga.

Feria de mediodia Thurs (8/25) in Guarapo
Me, Juanmi, Martín, JuanFra, Josetron, and Vicente

Luis, Lulu, and I on some ride called The Kangaroo

LA FERIA DE LA NOCHE, or nighttime fair, in Almería was AWESOME. I can’t compare it to the one in Málaga because we never made it out there (it’s located way out in the west part of the city and you have to catch a bus to get there and get back—big pain in the butt), but I was seriously impressed. Depending on the time of night you go, it can be 2 very different places. If you go early in the evening around 10 or so it’s like a big carnival. There are tons of kids running around with their parents, riding rides, trying to win oversized stuffed animals, and eating nasty, greasy carnival food. If you go later, between like 1 AM and 6AM (that’s when everything shuts down),  the crowd is very different. It’s like being downtown but you’ve only got your choice of like 6 or so bars and they’re all in these jumbo tents called CASETAS. We spent our evenings (or should I say early mornings) in one called GUARAPO. To enter, you pay an 11€ ($15) cover charge which includes a measly 2 drinks and then you take advantage of the fact that you’re with Almería’s Reese-equivalent, Juanmi, who always seems to know a bartender everywhere you go so that you can get free drinks :P hahaha

If you’re having trouble imagining what this might be like, check out this video. It was so freaking cool.

I was in awe when I walked in to the caseta and everyone else was like, “mehhh, it’s ok.” I later found out that apparently last year, the Guarapo caseta was a 2-STORY tent! Would’ve liked to have seen that!

The thing that impressed me the most about the feria, hands down, was the lights. You can see them lighting up the sky from football fields away. Then when you walk up to the PUERTA PRINCIPAL, or main entrance, it’s nearly impossible not to stop for a minute and marvel at the structure whose façade is intricately lined with lights in such a way that it resembles Almería’s old train station (this is my own theory…not something that someone told me, but I’m pretty sure it’s true). 

See the similarity?

Luis and I about to ride THE INVERTER...bom bom bommm

Then you notice the rides all lit up…the ferris wheel, the roller coasters, the really tall one that flips you upside down and makes all the people who drank too much at the midday feria throw up on each other (that maaaay or may not have happened to a couple people I know a few years back…Audra and LB, you might be able to guess whom haha). Then you come to the first “intersection” and you realize that all the different “streets” are marked with lights. They’re multicolored, super detailed hanging lights and they stretch literally from one end of the feria to the other. Standing at that intersection and being able to see how massive this celebration was made me stop and stare.  My friends kept on walking and I just stood there taking it all in. I don’t know what it was about those lights that intrigued me so much, but I felt like a little kid who was at Disney World for the first time. I found myself constantly pulling out my camera to take nearly the same picture over and over again because I thought it was so cool.

Those plastic things were floating on the water
and kids could run in them like hamster wheels!

In conclusion, the feria is ridiculously fun, but it’s a good thing it only comes once a year! Ten straight days of fiesta is exhausting and it eats up your money without you even noticing haha. I didn’t go out even half of those days, and by the end I was looking for excuses to be able to stay in haha. For anyone wanting to visit Spain, note that August on the southern coast is a great month to do so :)

Look forward to more blogs coming more often as I’ve found a park where I can steal somebody’s internet until I get my own!