Spring Check-in
So this blog, like many things, hasn’t gone exactly how I saw it going when I started… But a blog with a post every few months is still better than no blog at all. So picking up since December… as I wrote that last post, the COVID in my body was altering my Christmas break plans… This was disappointing to say the least. The week I was supposed to leave I quickly came down with what I thought was a cold. Unfortunately, I went to work that Monday, as I have no sick days without a doctor’s note. Luckily, I didn’t get anyone sick that I know of, including my coworkers that I ate breakfast with next to an open window that morning. Masks work. I took a test after my health quickly deteriorated that day. At the beginning of the day, it was just a sore throat but by the end I was losing my voice, runny nose, cough. That’s when I got an at-home test and then a PCR and alerted everyone that was around me. I had to walk 30 minutes away to a clinic and wait in line an hour and a half for my test, it was 100 euros.
I pushed back my fly date past the 10 day quarantine and I was lucky enough not to quarantine alone over Christmas/New Years. I ate the 12 grapes (green, seedless and skin-peeled to prevent choking) as customary with the chimes of the bell to bring in the New Year in Spain. I drank Cava (sparkling wine much like champagne) and ate Roscon, a cream filled cake with an unlucky bean and a king figurine. Its like a big bagel cut sideways with whipped cream, dried fruits and sugar. The person who finds one of the three kings has good luck for the year and the one that finds the bean has to pay for the cake. We made our own little feast with my own Spinach Artichoke dip, stuffed mushrooms, and I tried Shrimp heads… I also tried the Spanish deviled eggs, huevos rellenos, I recommend the latter. I had a couple cheeseboards. Christmas lights are in the streets and set up by government workers rather than on people’s houses.
Going home was quite weird, only for a week, and rather stressful. I did have a bit of reverse culture shock. I went to the dentist which really sucked, I saw some friends but felt a bit far away emotionally. To me, shower spickets seemed very tall and everything seemed big. Everyone was awful at wearing a mask. I think the U.S. is a lot more diverse, less people have blue/green eyes in Spain. As I was getting a COVID test for the way back, I was informed I had bronchitis and was given antibiotics, which was a surprise. Presumably that’s because I didn’t have more time to recover from the COVID especially with the jet lag/time change. I got a hair cut, had some peanut butter fudge and was back on the plane it seemed. I had layovers in Portugal and it was scary traveling with so many changing precautions alone. I think leaving for a week did make me forget a little Spanish, progress isn’t linear.
I started exploring different cuisines in Madrid like Chinese, Salvadorian, Nepalese, etc. Madrid, to me, is still a lot like a New York. There’s always something new to do. I definitely want to go to more museums, you have to go at special times to get discounts. I went to a cat cafe which I really liked, as I miss my pets a lot. I went back to a southern beach near Malaga/Granada and the weather wasn’t as nice but it’s still a gorgeous place to be. Southern Spain basically is what everybody talks about. I went to the famous Alhambra and finally put together the beer brand that’s named after it. I tried more Moroccan food at a fancier restaurant, cous-cous, hummus, tagine chicken.
I’ve managed to spend a bit more time among Spanish people. Sometimes with gin and tonics—I have learned alcohol does not make my Spanish better. I also tried an Easter food already, torrijas, which is like the better version of French toast. I also experienced a Calima, in which red sand from the Sahara dessert covers Spain via wind/rain and happens every few years. I tried Pisto which is a mix of vegetables like zucchinis, tomatoes, onions, carrots, peppers, which I really liked.
Generally, I think I’ve adjusted now after these 6 months. Things are pretty good. I have decided to do the program again, elsewhere in the northwest, a region called Galicia. I have found my flow at work. The application process is still a bit stressful with changing regulations and time sensitive dates. I was disappointed to struggle to find get a letter of recommendation, even being rejected by one of my teachers. I am reminded that I am not everyone’s “cup of tea.” A list of un-believers follows me but I persist. I remember being scared that “haters” would leave me unable to graduate on time about 2 years ago… if they could see me now. I am growing more confident in my conversational Spanish. I find a surprising amount of people approach me with questions on the street, although I am fairly confident I do not “look” Spanish. I have made a couple more friends. I am intimidated for the new challenges of summer, like the heat for example. And figuring out employment, given I may be in between student visas. Hopefully I will check-in again by then… until then, hasta luego!