A day in the life

This past week I went to dinner at my friend Laura's house. I got to sit down with her host family and get to know them and their daily life. Lucas (upper left) is 13. I was able to ask him a few questions about his life as an adolescent in Alicante. He is studying English in school and asked me if we could do the interview in English! It was a great opportunity for him to practice his English and share some insight into the life of a Spanish teenager.

Here are some fun facts that I learned about Lucas:

• Lucas lives with his grandmother (Pepa), his little brother (Alberto), his mom (Maria), and my friend Laura
• His favorite food is "American Hamburger"
• His favorite sport is futbol and his favorite team is Barcelona
• He goes to El Colegio de San Vicente where he takes classes in Math, Sciences, English, and Humanities
• His favorite show is the Simpsons (which is on TV almost all the time here)
• He likes to go skating at the skate park with his friends on the weekend
• His favorite way to pass time is to play on his Nintendo Wii (He kicked my butt at bowling!)
• Lucas' most prized possession is his blackberry because he can talk to all of his friends and family whenever he wants and he can access his tuenty account (thats like the Spanish facebook but they also use facebook too)
• He likes going to visit his Dad in Valencia because there is a lot more to do and the skate park there is even bigger than the one here.
• Lucas has a girlfriend named Atiana who is 14 and lives in the same apartment building
• He likes going with her to the mall or to the movies
• When he grows up he wants to study computers and design video games
• If he could go anywhere in the world he would go to Thailand and ride elephants
• His favorite music artist is Pitbull but his favorite song is "We found love" by Rhianna (we must have listened to it 3 times that night)
• In 20 years he sees himself living by the beach with his wife and kids but he says that he'll be rich enough to move his entire family into his giant house
• He normally goes to bed at 12:30 am.....depending on whats on TV
• His favorite part of living in Alicante is the beach 
• His favorite book is the 3rd Harry Potter
• His favorite movie is the Matrix
• He wants to become fluent in English (he practically is!) and he really likes practicing with the exchange students that live with him and his family year round. 

I was surprised to realize that Lucas is a lot like the kids I know in Portland his age. What do you guys think? What aspects of Lucas' life can you relate to? Does anything about him seem curious to you? Where you surprised by any of his answers? This weekend I'm going over to his house for dinner (really for a rematch on the Wii... I must redeem myslelf). Let me know if you guys have any questions you would like me to ask him! 

On a side note... there was a flash flood this morning here! I walked to the bus, without my raincoat or umbrella, and there was no sign of rain. Ten minutes into my bus ride thunder and lightening began followed by a crazy down pour! The second leg of our trip to school took twice as long because a bunch of the cars got stuck in the road because the water was above their tires!!! I literally walked through giant puddles of water up to my shins. Lightening hit my school building and broke off a huge piece of the roof! The power was coming and going and the ceiling was leaking! It never rains in Alicante... but when it rains, it POURS! 

Have a great week guys! 

Pero...es tu novio!?

Qué tal chic@s?!

I loved reading your responses to my previous post. Pretty funny stuff huh? I think I gave some of you the impression that Spaniards are antisocial. This is DEFINITELY not the case. People are constantly littering the streets sitting outside cafes, walking the boardwalk, shopping, or just hanging out in parks. While the sexes remain fairly segregated, everyone is out and about.

The other night I was skyping with my bestfriend Mark. My sister came in my room to borrow some clothes and decided to say hi. He jokingly referred to himself as my "novio", using one of the very few spanish words he knows. She giggled and went on her way. Later she started asking me about my "novio" and I explained to her that he was my bestfriend and definitely not my boyfriend. She didn't understand. She insisted that I had feelings for him, why else would I be skyping with some boy? After explaining again that we had always been just friends she started asking questions about our relationship. She still had it set in her mind that one day we were going to get married. Finally I had to break it to her, Mark is gay. While this opened up a whole other set of questions, I think she understood that it is possible for the two sexes to share meaningful, loving, platonic relationships.

Lili, you bring up a very good point. Living in Portland we see the LGBTQ population represented publically. That is not the case here. I have met a lot of people here but I haven't met any homosexuals. The only reference to homosexuality I've seen has had a very negative connotation. Sometimes, when definding their masculinity, boys will call eachother deragatory names meaning homosexual. Even on TV you can see jokes being made about homosexuality. It is interesting to me because Spain, especially with the upcoming election, is very involved and vocal in various social movements that bring "power to the voiceless." However, none of these movements pertains to homosexuality. This is a huge difference between Portland and Alicante.

I'm off to Valencia this weekend! I'm excited to travel a bit because its been a while since I've been out of Alicante. I'll be visiting some great museums and even an aquarium! I'll be interested to see how different it is from the Oregon coast aquarium. Vamos a ver!

Hasta Luego!

Chicos y Chicas en España

Qué tal chic@s?

Breaking news! Last night, in an effort to avoid the mountain of homework I have, I decided to roll up my sleeves and make dinner with my host mom. She asked me to come up with something different for them to try so I went to the store and picked up a few less than common ingredients. We made a delicious stir fry with tons of vegetables and.....tofu. My mom seemed to really like it but the first impression of tofu for my dad and sister.... not so much.

This week I wanted to share what I've learned about, well... boys and girls. Portland is a fairly progressive and liberal city, especially in regards to gender roles. We've come a long way from the 50's house wife family model. What I've encountered in Spain is very different from what you may find in Portland. So whats normal in Spain?

The way people dress here is much different than in Portland. Walking down the street it is almost impossible to avoid the click clack noise of 4 inch heels that a vast majority of the girls sport here.

Me and some friends going out for the night! I decided to trade in my t-shirt and beanie for a dress and some heels!

 I learned quickly that my birkenstocks were a little frumpy to wear out and about. Spanish women have a distinct demanor about them. They carry themselves with a certain elegance and pride. Rarely do I note women goofing off or laughing loudly; clearly I am not Spanish. It very common to hear countless "cat calls" like "ayyee guapa" from men to women on the street but never do you see a response. Women here keep very quiet in public especially if they don't appreciate attention. Some of my american guy friends have a hard time understanding this seemingly snobby attitude. Striking up a friendly conversation with a Spanish girl is almost always one sided. If she doesn't want to talk to you... she won't.

Spanish boys are quite interesting. I'm sure you guys are familiar with the characters from the Jersey Shore (as horrible as it is... their fame is unavoidable). Well imagine "Pauly D" or "The situation" but Spanish. Yes my friends. There are countless tight polos, faded jeans, ridiculous sun glasses, leather shoes, and the hair gel...OOHHH the hair gel!!

....I think I made my point. 

Now this doesn't cover the entire male population but its definitely the style. Like any city there are the "indie kids" or the "hippies". One thing I have never seen before that is everywhere here is the dreaded mullet. Sure we've seen mullets and we've seen dread locks. They have taken it to a new level here and created a business front with a rasta back. Despite the sometimes seemingly femenine style, men here are very masculine. They take pride in their male qualities, bringing a new meaning the the word "macho." They have no problem declaring their love or attraction to a female passerby, day or night.

Onto the dating world. Girls and boys don't socialize together as much as americans do. At home I have many close male friends but here that is much less common. In class the boys and girls are always segregated as if they each have coodies. Whenever I see the two sexes together it is almost always in a date-like setting. Spanish couples are very affectionate. PDA may be an understatement here. Almost everyone here lives with their parents until they get married. This forces any romantic practices outside the privacy of the home. You can imagine how seeing such blatant, in your face, mushy gooshy, baby talk etc.. might be a little weird for someone who is unfamiliar with this cultural norm.

Living in such a different environment in which the sexes are so segregated has been challenging for me at times. I've become accostomed to the strange looks and comments I receive when I go for an evening jog. My host mom explained to me that women don't really exercise here. I thought this was strange. She explained that it isn't very lady like to sweat in public. So I've been trying to take the scenic routes. Its been difficult to find a balance between respecting the culture while living the Spanish life style and staying true to my interests and personal beliefs about gender roles. Can you guys think of other challenges someone might face in this environment? What major social differences do you see between Alicante and Portland?

mmmm... Tapas

You guys already know that I'm taking a cooking class right now but I am proud to say that I am not a complete disaster in the kitchen anymore! Last night I succesfully cooked a tapas dinner for my family using what I learned in class. I NEVER thought I would be able to pull it off but its not as hard as it seems. I thought I would share a few recipes with you guys so you can try it out at home!

Pincho de Tortilla de Patatas!

2 patatas grandes picadas

1 cebolla picada

4 huevos

aceite de oliva

Pan en rodajas y tomate cherry para decorar

Cocer la patata y la cebolla en el aceite, hasta que estén tiernas. EScurrirlas bien del aceite, mezclar con los huevos batidos y formar la tortilla. Cortarla en cuadritos y pincharla con un tamatito!

Calamares Fritos

Anillas de calamar

Harina

Sal

Aceite de oliva

Poner la sal a los calamares, pasarlos por la harina, quitar el execeso de harina y freírolos en abundante aceite. Escurrir sobre papel y servir con un trozo de limón. 

Buen provecho!!

Living and EATING on the other side of the world- lastest facts on Spanish nutrition

Hola Chic@s,

Thanks so much for filling me in on some of the happenings in Portland. The occupy protest is really taking off around the world isn't it!? It will be interesting to see where this all goes. Thanks for sharing that video as well. It was very touching! I'm glad to hear everyone had a good Halloween. I'm very jealous of your candy intake. Speaking of candy... or junk food in general I learned some interesting facts this week.

One of my professors at the University was talking to me about health and nutrition here Spain. He recommended an article to me that had some interesting statistics and background information about current Spanish dietary health.Yes, I have noted that the meals aren't quite as balanced or healthy but I didn't really think much else of it. Typical Spanish diets don't provide a lot of nutritional value. They are high in carbs and low in vitamins and fiber. I was shocked to discover that 60% of adults in Spain are overweight!! Even further, 20% of those are obese. This is due to other life style factors as well but nutrition and lack of education have a large impact on these statistics. This last year Spain has calculated 14% of its population to have Diabetes. So where is the root of this growing Pandemic??

Tastey fried lunch....with not a vegetable in sight

Nutrition is not something people seem to worry much about or even know much about. I have noticed this in my host family and the families of other students. I'll occasionally hear my madre complaining about being overweight or proclaiming that she should go on a diet but rarely does this affect her eating habits. My sister, in an effort to lose weight, went on a diet of only white french bread and cream cheese. I have never seen my dad eat a vegetable nor have I seen a piece of fruit in the house.  Nutrition is not something that is taught in schools and many products in the grocery store don't even have nutrtional facts on the label. To me, the problem seems to begin here. But really this is only the beginning.

 Like much of the world right now, Spain is in an economic crisis. This has caused many problems but one in particular may not be as obvious. Funding for public education has been cut which means there is no hope of adding nutritional education to the curriculum. So in this case, what you don't know.... is really hurting you. In 2011 it was reported that 1 in 5 people in Spain live bellow the poverty line. In the last few years the average household income in Spain has dropped 5%. This shortage of money affects the type of food people can afford. So, whats cheap? Foods that are high in fat, low in nutrition, easy to make, and affordable become the only thing available to struggling families.

So...? What now!? La Sociedad Española de Medicina Interna (SEMI) & el Congreso Nacional are currently working on passing a tax on foods with a certain amount of fat. Along with this they would like to begin creating a market for healthy foods at low cost to encourage healthy eating on a budget. Change won't happen over night but soon enough, health professionals hope to see a more balanced trend in the Spanish diet and a decline in the number of people suffering from obesity.

What factors make Portland so different from Alicante in regards to nutrition? Let me know what you guys think!

Happening here in Portland!

Breaking News

Hola chic@s!
Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! Spain doesn't really the holiday but they do celebrate el día de los santos November 1st. I saw a few zombies around town but no trick or treaters or crazy costumes to report. Thanks for all of your comments. It was interesting to hear about your learning practices. This week I plan on talking about a piece of local news. I would be interested to see how news hear compares to any breaking local news in Portland. Feel free to find an article that you find interesting to draw comparisons for your responses. Talk to you all soon!