Connecting

Blogger has been eating my drafts with photos, so I'll have to rely on words alone. I'm having a terrific time on this vacation, but I had no idea that I would be so busy. School takes six or seven hours each day and that leaves time either for sightseeing or for meeting people but often not both.

On this trip, I've had the opportunity to meet people through the school and through sites like Couchsurfing that identify locals who want to hang out with travelers. I go sightseeing with the people from school, and save all my important questions for the locals. For example, how do you separate the trash? (A: It's complicated.) Is it okay to pay with a credit card? (A: Not really.) How do people from Basque feel about people from Madrid? (A: Words can't convey their unhappiness.)

I used to be someone who traveled the world, but I haven't been part of that group for years. All of my friends and family are at home are pretty settled. It has been simply delightful to reconnect with people who try out different countries like other people try out different apartments.

I'd wax poetic a bit more, but I need to get back to studying for my exam tomorrow...

Meat

Meat, or dishes lacking it, is a primary concern for me in Spain. I haven't encountered anyone outright hostile, but I do encounter an air of befuddlement when I explain that I don't eat meat OR chicken OR seafood. The waiter seems to be thinking, "But then what will you eat?" The guidebooks talk about the great love the Spanish have for food, but that love is centered around pork. It makes me long for Germany, which had many more vegetarians, and where they make bread and cheese a staple of many meals.

I have two methods of coping: I rented an apartment instead of a room so I could cook, and I tfocus my attention on alcohol and dessert. I am pleased to report that Spain has good desserts, and I am slowly working my way through every item on offer at the bakery. Unless those items contain meat, of course...

Spain, day 3

I am not a big photo taker. At home, almost all of my pictures are of machines, as I take them apart, so that I'll have a guide to put them back together. On my last solo international trip, I took about twelve photos, and half were of cake. So I am proud of myself that I remembered to photograph a scene during a walk in the park, thinking that my picture-happy relatives would appreciate it.

Yesterday was the first day of school. I don't think I appreciated how much time school would take. There are public holidays each week that I'm here, so classes are compressed into 5 hours per day for 4 days each week. Add in time for walking to school and homework and that is 6 or 7 hours of my day.

All of my classmates are younger than me and most of them, men and women, have followed a significant other who has a job here, although I have met students in other classes who are tourists learners like me. As I've told my teachers, my goal is not to become fluent in two weeks, but to become more comfortable speaking the language. I want to be able to talk to all my neighbors at home, most of whom are from Central America.

And now I'm off to class!

Spain, Day 2

Today is day 2 of my Spain trip, where I'll be spending two weeks in Madrid taking language classes. Spain is somewhat of an odd choice for me, given their love of meat and late night partying. However, I've really been wanting to improve my language skills, and I'm always looking for an excuse visit Europe.

Yesterday I was mainly occupied with finding the apartment and trying to stay awake long enough to fight my jet lag. I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get out of the doors of my apartment house. One was demonstrated by the cleaning lady, but a second flummoxed me. Several times, I conveniently met someone coming in and was able to slip out the door. Finally, I decided to solve the mystery by loitering near the front door and pretending to read my phone when someone else left the building. The door only unlocks when you press a button about three feet from the door handle, so I never would have found it on my own.

I chose my apartment for its proximity to the language school, but it also turns out to be within walking distance of three large art museums, all housing major collections of European art. I hope to visit them many times. Tonight I had a few hours of Rubens.

Other highlights from the past two days:

I watched a man and woman dressed in authentic 17th century clothing have lunch at a cafe while speaking what I think was Norwegian.
I ate a salad composed of hot gnocchi and cream sauce poured on top of arugula. It was delicious and definitely expanded my definition of what counts as a salad.
I visited a market that seemed to be composed people selling either flowers or socialism. I'm not quite sure of this combination- delicate things brought from other countries that can decorate your life?

Packed and on my way

In just a few hours, my vacation will begin. I've been planning this trip for months, which included careful timing to minimize disruption for my department during my absence. I've arranged for dog and cat care, carefully packed my suitcase to fit the weight requirements, and followed a sleeping schedule to progressively awaken earlier and minimize jetlag.

In a way, my packing was made easier by my choice of hostess gift. My cousin, an American who lives abroad, requested Cheerios. When I happily acquiesced, I had not considered how much space this would take in my suitcase. I was therefore motivated to pack lightly.

Expect a blitz of vacation posts in the next few weeks!

Putting the garden to bed

Although I took a month-long break from blogging, I now feel the need to catch up on all my projects of the fall. This is particularly pressing as I go on vacation this weekend, so everyone should expect many upcoming travel posts.

I've been busy getting the house and garden ready for winter, so I won't be surprised by the cold weather. I've stashed the rain barrels and hoses and anything else that might freeze, and I harvested the very last vegetable, sweet potatoes. I had an extra gardening project this fall, which was to remove some side garden beds.  I suspect that when the previous owner put them in, decades ago, they weren't as shaded by the trees as they are now. I grew tired of soil that produced verdant weeds but spindly vegetables. 

The beds, lushly growing with weeds and unproductive vegetables. 

 Removing the meter-long iron rebar. A friend had the brilliant idea of using a car jack to wrench them out of the ground, and with his help, I got them out in an afternoon.

 Smooth, seeded dirt.

Done. The regrowing wasn't terrific - this fall we had so much rain that the seeds kept getting washed away. But I'm firmly of the "if it's green and I mow it, it's lawn" camp, so I'm not too fussed about the mix of grass and weeds.

New Bathroom, Parts 7-9

See this lovely room? It has walls! And a door, WITH a doorknob!  Once again, I am reminded when changes happen slowly then you appreciate every small improvement. This is the product of three different friends-coming-to-help days. The door was dreadful to install - I accidentally chose a model that is designed to be easier to install, which (sadly) made it nearly impossible to install. In fact, I used the bathroom without a functioning door for several weeks, which only worked because I am the only person that goes upstairs in my house.

There is still much work to be done: the green on the walls is drywall, which will need to be taped, mudded, and painted. There is no electricity yet. We have not even begun to tackle the shower or new A/C system. Nonetheless, it feels pretty amazing that I now have an actual bathroom where once there was an unfinished closet.