Toulouse

As I've talked about in the past, I am exploring other possibilities where I might make a home. One option is France, and that's why I visited it last week. As I did last year in Hamburg, I used a housesitting service, which lets me take care of people's pets while staying in their homes for free. I applied for two positions in France during April, and received one, in Toulouse.

I was in Toulouse a year ago, but that was a touristy kind of trip, and this time I really wanted to learn more about day to day life, not what museums I could see. So I did my usual scouting trip process, which includes talking to other immigrants and using the buses to go to the very edges of the city. In addition, of course, I ate lots of French cakes.

I love the size of Toulouse and that it has a couple of big universities. This, for me, is really a sign of the academic and cultural vibe I'm going for. They also have a great public transportation system and the weather, at least in spring, was lovely. Now I just need to learn more about the disadvantages, like the legal processes I´d need to undertake.

The cats at my last petsitting gig did not like me at all (but I don´t think they liked anyone). These cats, named Paulette and Pacha, were very friendly. I miss pets a lot, and it was a delight to spend time with them. //

Los gatos de mi última función como “cuidadora de hogares” no me gustaban nada (creo que a ellos no les gustaba nadie). Pero estos gatos, que se llaman Paulette y Pacha, me gustaron mucho. Echo muchísimo de menos a las mascotas, y fue un placer pasar tiempo con ellos.

Gariguettes, the best strawberries that I have ever eaten. Sweet and soft, they turn into mush 

within a day, so you have to eat them immediately. They are a specialty of the region. //

Las mejores fresas que he probado... dulces y suaves, se ablandan en un día, así que necesité comerlas inmediatamente. Son una especialidad de esta región.

Market day // El mercado

Really fancy apple cake // 

Pastel de manzana y nata realmente elegante

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Como expliqué anteriormente, estoy explorando otros lugares potenciales donde podría vivir. Una posibilidad es Francia, y por esta razón la visité la semana pasada. Tal y como hice el año pasado en Hamburgo, en Francia, mi intención era cuidar una vivienda mientras vivía gratis. Solicité dos puestos en Francia durante el mes de abril, y recibí uno, en Toulouse.

Visité Toulouse hace un año, pero esa fue una visita turística, y esta vez quería pasar más tiempo explorando el día a día, y no los museos o las atracciones turísticas. Es por eso que tuve algunas citas con otros extranjeros y viajé en autobuses por toda la ciudad. Además, claro está, comí muchos pasteles franceses.

Me gusta el tamaño de Toulouse y que haya algunas universidades grandes, porque define muy bien su interés por lo académico y el gusto por lo cultural. También tiene un buen sistema de transporte público y el clima (al menos en primavera) es agradable. Ahora tengo que aprender más sobre las desventajas, como por ejemplo, los procesos legales.

Olives

t is no secret that I really miss gardening. I make do with my little terrace window boxes, but they certainly don´t scratch the itch of growing and storing your own food. However, I have managed a bit of this by collecting olives. My first winter here, I noticed that a nearby park had been built around an older, existing olive grove. I watched carefully, and noticed that in the late winter, the birds were feasting on the olives, so clearly the city did not pick them. I had seen people who did not look like locals (as evidenced by their headscarves) picking them, so the following year I did too.

I picked 5 kg of olives this fall. That is a LOT.

Processing olives to make them edible is time consuming work, as I knew from the one time I ordered a delivery of raw olives in the US. After picking, you sort by size and variety, prick or cut the skin of every fruit, then soak them in water. This water must be changed daily for 2-4 weeks, until the bitter compounds have been leached out sufficiently to make them edible. If you try to eat an olive off the tree, you will spit it out immediately - it is that astringent. After the many soaking, you marinate the olives in salt, vinegar, and flavourings, and in just a few more months, you have tasty olives to share. This is not for the faint of heart, or for those who can´t abide a bucket of olives in the kitchen for a month, but it definitely feels close to gardening.

Oviedo

The countryside is very near to the city of Oviedo. // El campo está muy cerca.

Oviedo is a small city in the north of Spain. When I made a list of the places I might like to live besides Madrid, it was one of the top choices. It´s quite close to the sea, which give it a maritime climate with lots more rain than Madrid. It is extremely picturesque, surrounded by mountains, and is filled with fountains and sculptures. Apropos of nothing, it was awarded the title, "Cleanest City in Spain", a fact that almost every person I talked to here told me about.

I went up there last week to explore. I followed my standard scouting mission methodology, which I use when visiting places I might like to live. I schedule coffee meetings with as many immigrants and expats as I can, to learn about their experiences and I take the bus to the end of the line to see what the countryside and outskirts of the city look like. Since culinary ingredients and bicycling are important to me, I always check out the local Asian grocery store and monitor how many bicycles I see as well.

I´m not sure this will be the location of my forever home - it´s simply too small. But it was a fun trip and it feels good to be exploring options.

Woody Allen is apparently a fan. // Woody Allen es un fanático de la ciudad. 

It´s a beautiful city, with lots of sculptures and fountains. // 

Es una ciudad muy chula, con muchas esculturas y fuentes.

Oviedo es una ciudad pequeña en el norte de España. Cuando hice una lista de lugares donde pudiera vivir además de Madrid, fue una de las primeras. Es cerca del mar, que da lugar a un clima suave con más lluvia que Madrid. Es pintoresco, con montañas, fuentes y escultura pública. Además, ha ganado el título a “La ciudad más limpia de España”, aspecto que casi todo ovetense me dijo.

Estuve allí la semana pasada para explorarla. Tengo un horario y metodología cuando visito lugares que podrían ser un posible hogar. Planeo citas con café con inmigrantes, para aprender sobre sus experiencias. También, voy en autobús al final de la línea del autobús, para ver los campos y los barrios de las afueras de la ciudad. Dado que cocinar es importante para mí, siempre voy a las tiendas de alimentación asiática. Al final, presto atención al uso de bicicletas.

No estoy segura de que Oviedo sea el un hogar para vivir siempre; es demasiado pequeño. Sin embargo, fue un viaje divertido y me alegra explorar mis posibilidades.