Christmas Day

Christmas morning seems synonymous with stockings, Christmas music, and cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon rolls? In my family, we buy the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and put them in the oven just before we begin to dig through the stocking hung by the fireplace. So then, it seemed more than fitting that my adoptive family would also eat cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. Amazing how such little things can remind one of home and make the day more special. The morning began with stockings, and after we finished unwrapping presents and reveling in our peanuts, mandarin oranges, and chocolate and eating the delicious cinnamon rolls, the pajama gang gradually dispersed to shower, play with new toys, or to take a Christmas morning jog. I passed on jogging with Anna and Nate, deciding that wheezing through a run in the cold, while I can't breathe out of my nose, wouldn't be fun. Instead, I tied up my shoes and set out to walk through the countryside. The fields were mud and the trees bare, but still the serenity of the morning and the gentle hills in the background seemed fitting for a Christmas morn. I returned rejuvenated, with mud up to my knees, and in urgent need of a shower.

About 2, Pía and Chino came over for lunch. Afterward, while the majority settled down to play ping-pong, Pía, Jodi, Nick, Andi, and I set out for a round-about walk to the park. They've built a new park between Multiva Baja and Multiva Alta, which I enjoyed seeing, along with a bike path connecting the two villages. It's interesting to see what changes when one has been gone for a few years. When we got back, the population in the house had multiplied, and by the end of the evening, we were 20 people strong. We passed the hours playing Settlers of Catan and poker, having a white elephant gift exchange, eating food and sweets, and enjoying plenty of talk and laughter. After the guests left around 8, we girls tortured the guys by finishing the last 3-hours of the 6-hour version of Pride and Prejudice. I'm proud of myself for staying awake. Luccas did say at the end that he thinks he likes the movie. Thinks...perhaps he said it hesitantly that to keep Nate and Luke from teasing him too much.

Friday morning, due to Amber's request, the whole family (and I) sung Christmas carols, accompanied by Luke on the piano. Pía arrived halfway through and sung like Luccas did, that silent form of singing where you don't open your mouth. We couldn't even get Luccas to sing the Latin choruses like "gloria in excelsis deo" or to honk or quack or bark when we substituted animal noises for the words in the carols (only after singing the words to all those we knew by heart). That was the most fun, singing the old Christmas carols from the hymnal in three part harmony, replete with the whole barnyard's voices. You would have to hear it, I believe, to fully appreciate the beauty. Pía bid us goodbye, probably wondering about the sanity of her American friends, and we went on to have a much more normal rest of the day.

It snowed last night here, but none stuck. It's been fairly good weather, a bit nippy at times, but nothing to complain too much about. I called my family on Christmas, and Mom said that she is happy that I'm here in Spain instead of trying to head home. I would probably be stuck in an airport somewhere. From Friday till Tuesday afternoon, my family was without power along with about half of Fort Wayne. The ice storm took down a bunch of power lines and tree limbs, keeping the power company extremely busy. Dad has been on the roads plowing and salting, and yesterday, it took my family about 6 hours to drive what normally is a 2.5 hour trip to my grandparents house in Ann Arbor, Michigan because of the icy roads. People were going 15 mph on the highway where the limit is 70 mph. My grandparents said that at their house I would need cross country skis to walk through the countryside. Now that's an idea I wouldn't mind acting upon. Next year, I suppose, I'll get the skis out.

Thanks for all the Christmas cheer and wishes you've sent me! Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2008

Vacation!!

I know that I’ve been neglecting you all lately, so my profuse apologies. These last few weeks have been consumed with Christmas shopping, baking, and outings with friends and the church group. I’ve been busy with work as well, lesson planning and creating materials for classes. Let me catch up on what has transpired since I last wrote, ashamedly almost a month earlier.

December 8th was Immaculate Conception Day, a just reason in Spain to cancel school. Saturday was Constitution Day, so I’m not quite sure if the holiday was moved to Monday, or if we didn’t have school for Immaculate Conception Day. At any rate, it makes little difference from a practical point of view. There was no school, and in many cases, no work, a fact that many of us took advantage of. Thursday afternoon after school, I substitute taught in a private class of 4-5 year olds for a friend. Crazy! After that, my weekend began. Friday afternoon, I left with Tamy, Eva, and Sara, all from my church, headed for Rascafrías, where the youth groups from Canillejas, where I attend Sunday mornings, and San Fernando, where I go to youth group, were to have a retreat. It was good to meet people I hadn’t talked to before and to grow closer to some of those I already knew.

Monday Isma, Tamy, and I went to Aranjuez, a royal palace established on the banks of a river and surrounded by an arboreal park. It was beautiful, despite the constant drizzle of rain. After taking a nauseating amount of photos of ourselves, we went to Chinchon to eat lunch. It finally stopped sprinkling, so our wandering search for the restaurant where Ismael had been last time didn’t leave us drenched. On the way home, we stopped by to see some friends and take (guess what) more pictures. The Tuesday after such a wonderful extended weekend is always a rude awakening, returning to real life with my longest day of work, but it doesn’t make the weekend any less sweet.

The next Friday evening I went with some friends to see Cortylandia at the Corte Inglesn near the Puerta del Sol. Amy will remember the Puerta del Sol…the plaza where the bear is. Here’s a link if you want to see what it was like: Cortylandia. Saturday we went to hand out coats to homeless in downtown Madrid. Drizzly, wet, and cold...we were laden down with bags full of coats and our sandwiches and so couldn’t use the umbrellas we had brought. The trek was a success in that we found where the homeless are and aren’t. Or better put, my group mainly found where they are not, the other group found where they are. I hope that armed with this information, next time we can serve even more people and have some meaningful conversations. That Sunday I attended at meeting at church about the volunteer work I do at La Alameda elementary school, so didn’t go to youth group until the very end, in time to eat and say goodbye to friends.

This last week before Christmas vacation was quite a doozy energy wise. Monday, was English class with Tamy and Sara at my house. Afterwards, friends came over to help make gingerbread cookies. They were a great help, especially spirits wise, as the flat appearance of the cookies was beginning to stress my cookie ideal. Wednesday I went with the kids to see the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens in an English theater. It was great, though not appropriate for half of the kids who came from our school. It was acted for kids, but the English was more than above their level. I think the first graders understood “sit down,” “stop,” “yes,” “ghost,” and “Merry Christmas.” Not much more. It was fun during the play, but a mess coming and going since they miscounted the kids and didn’t have enough room in the buses. Imagine running through the streets with first graders looking for a taxi. Nightmare.

Thursday I was excited to get to spend an hour with the entire class, teaching about Christmas in English. First, the pictures from home with our Christmas traditions, second the book "Twas the Night Before Christmas," (and for my eled friends, I did a walk-through first and comprehension questions throughout), and third a memory game with Christmas picture cards I had made. When the kids left, I gave them the gingerbread cookies made earlier in the week. In the after school program, we had fun playing games and giving out cards to celebrate the coming Christmas. Coming home, I had a scare when a girl about my age fell from the bus while getting off, hitting her ribs against the curb. The bus driver called the EMS, and stopped the bus until they came (20 minutes later). I’m sure she’s fine, because although she was having a little difficulty breathing, she was sitting and responsive. When the next bus came around, we all got off, and everyone was relieved (some angry, others concerned about the girl, others clueless) to get home.

Friday morning I had an appointment for my NIE (residency card). I will receive it in less than 40 days! I also went to an English bookstore that was in the same neighborhood and looked at the books and teaching supplies. Stuff is expensive!! That evening, I went to a dinner with my small group at church at a pizza place. Saturday I ran errands and did last minute Christmas wrapping. Angelita came home to grab some things and spend the weekend at her son’s house. She is still in the hospital for rehabilitation, but they are letting her out for some of the holidays. We still don’t know when she’ll be home for good. Saturday evening I went with my friend Isma to see the living nativity in Buitrago de Lozoya. Here’s something about it: Nativity (Click on "escenas" on the left, then click on each link below to see the parts of both the story before-hand and the nativity walk-through in the castle...these are under "trabajos, "política y religión," "mercadores," and "la anunc. de las profetas"). I felt sorry for the kids that had to stay in the cold like statues for the display. Despite that, I was able to enjoy myself immensely. Sunday morning I went to the church in San Fernando to see some friends sing and ate lunch at Tamy’s family, who live in the same building as me.

And now I’m in Pamplona, enjoying cooking, talking, and playing games with the family and family friends. It doesn’t seem like Christmas is tomorrow, but I’m sure the excitement of the two youngest Veldts will make tomorrow morning special. And we all have much reason to celebrate the day, even if we are all missing some things or people.

December

Thanksgivings

In response to your question, Mom, the early Thanksgiving dinner was very good. We ate an early dinner, about 9:00 pm. There were 22 of us family and family friends at the table, eating wonderful Thanksgiving food and talking whenever our mouths weren't too full. Mashed potatoes, the biggest turkey you've ever seen (not kidding), gravy, stuffing with nuts in it, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole. Only things missing were Brenda's molasses cookies, lemon fluff, layered salad, and Margie's wonderful pumpkin pie. There was pumpkin pie, but it couldn't compare with Margie's pies. At the end of the dinner, we all placed our place tags in a bucket and drew to give thanks for the person who we received. That was a bit nerve wracking since I didn't know the person very well, but I wasn't the only person in that situation. It was a nice idea, though and created reflection on the meaning of the day.

Speaking of Thanksgiving and pies, my small group is having a Thanksgiving dinner tonight as well. Two Thanksgivings in one year! Neither with my family, but I try not to think about that. Yesterday I was a bit sad, realizing that all of my family was at Gary and Margie's together. Guess that means I love and miss them. But, today, there will be too much joy and celebration for melancholy. I have just finished making two pumpkin pies, completely from scratch. Completely. Let me tell you.

First, buy the pumpkins. Cook them in half with a huge knife, cook them in the microwave for 20 minutes each, scoop them out, puree them, and then add the spices. The spices were a bit tricky. I went to an Arab produce store in Lavapies to buy fresh ginger (which I then squashed the best I could). I bought whole dried cloves, since I couldn't find it in powder. Crushed that with the pestle and plate too. And 30 minutes ago, putting away the spices, I found powdered cloves. That was a little crushing. The mixing then with the other ingredients was easy. While I cooked the pumpkins, I made the crust too. I guess that wasn't that hard. I got to mix it with my hands, which was fun. The hardest part was cutting the pumpkins in half and crushing the cloves. And I didn't find out until after making it that you're only supposed to use the top part of the whole cloves. Hope the rest isn't poisonous or something, because I definitely crushed that as well. After I finished cutting, mixing, and mashing, I'm sure that anyone surveying the kitchen would swear that a hurricane had swept through the room. Now it's a little calmer, the multitude of dishes are washed, and the last pie is out of the oven, cooling on top of the stove. I stole an itsy bitsy piece out of the smaller pie...just to make sure it's edible. I dare say it is. It takes a lot of willpower not to steal more, but I remind myself that Thanksgiving dinner is waiting for me tonight, complete with turkey, so I should behave myself.

In other news, I have now seen the new James Bond movie. Pretty good, though I'm wondering what I missed that I would have caught in English. My curiosity isn't strong enough to go see it in English, though. I also met the new 5th grade English teacher at the school. He's young, studied in Ireland, and can cook American food better than the other auxiliar from the US (Erika) and me. How many 25 year old guys know what to do with fresh ginger or how to stuff a turkey for Thanksgiving...especially when turkey with stuffing isn't their tradition? Well, at least I know who to talk to now if I need to find something in Madrid or have a cooking doubt. With his skills, I'm sure that the other teachers at the school will have him married off faster than you can blink. Poor guy.

Nameless blessings

Every morning, before I run to catch the bus to the train station, I greet and say goodbye to the cleaning lady on my way out. Today, to my surprise, she asked me about Angelita, or more specifically, "the lady with the knees," I believe she said. I don't know how she knows I live with Angelita, or how she knows that Tuesday Angelita is having knee replacement surgery. Probably she talks to Angelita as well. Irregardless of the information source, her thoughtfulness made me examine our daily encounters more closely. Everyday I say hello, perhaps "How are you," and then go on my way. Everyday-like part of my routine, I expect to see her polishing the windows or the floor. Even more, as I hurriedly skip down the three flights of stairs, I look forward to hearing her friendly greeting and seeing her smiling face. It is the first ray of sunshine I see every morning. As I realized how much her seemingly inconsequential actions affect my life, I began to think about the other little things that make my day good, other people that bless my life. How do I bless other people's lives? Whom do I make smile, that I don't even realize that I touch? It's interesting to think about, but I realize that it's not just a cerebral thought. It's tangible, the blessing that the cleaning lady is in my life. I think I'll make her a Christmas gift to thank her. It's funny...I don't even know her name.

Jazz and Roadkill

Roadkill is normal to Americans...we have so many animals that they just can't stay out off the roads. And so, squish, pancakes. But here, there aren't as many animals, at least that I can see, and I had yet to see any roadkill until last night. After a night in the city with friends, my friend Isma was dropping me off at home when we saw it. Sadly, the dead animal was a kitten. Not even a wild animal! While we were outside the car talking (dropping people off can take a long time), I think two more people ran over the poor cat. In between searching for Orion and different stars (me trying to imagine the names in English), the roadkill was an interesting side topic. Sorry, no picture of this interesting part of my life.

Earlier in the evening, Isma, Kristen (another language auxiliar that is in the photos from English camp), and I set out for Madrid to listen to a jazz concert. The three of us went to a bar first to pass the time, and ate some delicious cheese cake. Then, we met another American, Karin (Karina in Spanish), for the concert. It was buenisimo. There were two groups: Carita Boronska Quintet from Denmark and an Spanish orchestra called Santiago de la Muela. The quintet's singer had an awesome voice and could scat like none other. The guitar player was blind and played wonderfully. The second act was great too, like big band, led by a guitarist. I especially enjoyed a guest artist's take on "I couldn't ask for anything more" by Gershwin. It was enjoyable to hear original jazz music and relax for the night. I think I enjoyed the first group the most, since I was half asleep by the end of the concert. Still haven't quite beaten this cold I have.

Today, another lazy day. Cleaning, sewing on buttons and mending clothes, drawing clouds in the park, grocery shopping, and making a wonderful curry lentil soup. And, of course, writing to you all. Today I've also set time aside to study Spanish. I'm learning a lot of Spanish phrases from reading photo comments on facebook. Some really strange things, that thankfully Isma, who speaks English, helps me translate. Like this: estoy mazo grillo. I'm a mallet cricket (literally). Actually, it means "I'm so crazy." Languages are so intriguing and infuriating at the same time.

English Camp and my birthday

I spent my birthday at an English camp, and one of the my missionary friends gave me peanut butter for my birthday. Mmmm. I was sung to two times on Saturday, and another time on Sunday. It was really nice to feel so special and wanted. The youth group gave me a long, warm sweater...I guess they give birthday gifts...it's a pretty tight-knit group. Eva, one of the young women who lives in my apartment building and is in my small group with church gave me a pretty scarf when I invited her over for hot chocolate. Angelita made me a pretty cream colored scarf.

I had a wonderful weekend at English camp. Well, wonderful and not at the same time. I woke up sick (a cold) on Friday morning, but I decided to go to camp anyway. By Friday evening I had a bad sore throat and I suppose a kind of high fever (I was soooo cold and three coats, a sweater, and a blanket didn't help.) I like to believe I'm on the mend now. This weekend I was very tired, but enjoyed it anyway. The place we went was absolutely beautiful. I forgot to take photos, but I stole some from my friends Tamy and Ismael.

My favorite part of the camp was being in the mountains and having time to spend with friends. I enjoyed meeting the Spaniards too and having conversations with the language learners. It was a camp for high schoolers through adult. Many people said that they could sense a difference in the workers (us) at the camp. We hope that it opens doors to people who are searching for more meaning in their lives. Many did not want to leave at the end of the weekend. I know I didn't!

Some other highlights:
Skipping rocks (or failing, then watching others do so)
Crawdads
Looking at stars
Smores and a campfire
Church service in English
Getting closer to people here
Climbing a tree

English Camp

We're having Thanksgiving here this Thursday, since the lady I live with is getting a knee replacement before the real Thanksgiving. Various of her children are married to Americans, so it will be a real Thanksgiving, I suppose. The trickiest part is getting the turkey here before the Christmas season. You have to order it special.

Oh, and Amy...thanks for writing. Looking at wedding rings must be exciting!

Spanish-isms

Every once in awhile I hear a phrase in Spanish that is so wonderful, I say...this should exist in English too. But, of course it doesn't, so I'm forced to share it with you in translation instead. Here are some Spanish/Spanish language phrases I like.

Madre de los caramelos!! Mother of the candies!
--used like "Oh my goodness!"

Hijo de la mazorca! Son of a corncob! José's phrase...means the same thing as the first one.

Estoy hecho polvo. I'm made dust I'm exhausted.

Tengo ganas... I feel like doing... Except it sounds way cooler in Spanish.

Entre algodones between cotton (sheets? Refers to sheltered kids.