A break from the routine

As I've settled in, it has become increasingly more difficult to think of interesting blog topics. This week, however, was a break from the routine and I have quite a few exciting events to recount...

I made pisto from scratch! Okay, excitement over. I've definitely had better. I think I need to try another recipe. Also, I had a bit of a mix-up with translating ingredients and buying produce at the grocery store... I ended up buying 2 kilograms of cucumber instead of zucchini. After some research, I found out that you can in fact cook cucumber like zucchini so I just switched out the ingredients. Not bad, but I will be eager to try it again with a different recipe and the correct ingredients. That is, when I ever finish eating this batch. I've eaten it 3 times, given some to Napala, and I still have two containers frozen in the freezer...

Pisto for dinner on Sunday night

Monday was Napala's birthday! So I got my arts and crafts game on and made her card a little more interesting. Even more interesting was watching the waiter at the restaurant stare at her as she put together a puzzle.

Juan was convinced this was the coolest thing he had ever seen.

I GOT A PACKAGE! Yes, my mother is AWESOME.  She sent my down comforter, which has made the nights infinitely more cozy. I've stopped sleeping in my robe (I'm good in my short sleeve shirt) and using my Ikea blanket. Now I have something to build up to when winter comes.

Thank goodness for space bags. And yes, York Peppermint Patties made it in the box.

My mother would sew a heart into my comforter. Love you Mom!

Tuesday night was the Spain vs. France soccer game, which I had the joy of watching with my French roommate and her Spanish boyfriend. We took guesses on the score and chatted about the use of words such as "corner" and "penalty" in Spanish. As the game continued, my other roommates made it home and joined in on the gathering. After being here for two and a half weeks and seeing everyone in passing, it was wonderful to spend some time hanging out with them. When the game finished we chatted about languages, foods (Elody was explaining corn dogs to Luis... I'm so proud of our American culinary inventions), and whether or not being a fan of the Barcelona team was the same as supporting the Catalan movement to secede from Spain. (Carol is a Barcelona fan instead of Real Madrid, which Luis does not approve of. Apparently most of the girls in Spain like the Barcelona because the players are attractive, but all of the guys are die-hard supporters of Real Madrid. The conversation ended with Carol threatening to hang a Catalan flag in the living room and Luis planning to build a wall separating her room from the rest of the apartment. LOVE IT.)

I took the opportunity of us all being together to introduce my roommates to Hershey's chocolate as well. For those of you who know me, it is a pretty big deal that I shared my limited supply of York Peppermint patties (freshly arrived from Hershey!) with anyone. But I did, and they loved it! I guess I know what I'm bringing back after Christmas...

Wednesday night, Spanish class became real life in a whole new way. For anyone who has gone through a high school Spanish class, you know who Juanes is. He's a favorite for teachers from schools all over. His songs are perfect for those "fill in the blank" listening activities because they are catchy but quite varied in verb tense and grammatical structure. Okay, enough about the pedagogy of using songs as listening activities. The important thing is: I saw Juanes live in concert!

When Napala and I got there, we were surprised, however, to find that many of the people who were at the concert were older than us (or other U.S. students). Then we realized that it was about 7-8 years ago that we were listening to Juanes for the first time. Wow.  Nevertheless, it was super fun and we enjoyed the group of 30 year old women in front of us having the equivalent of Bieber Fever over every song that they played.

Fulfilling every Spanish student's dream...

Below is a link to one of my favorite Juanes songs, though of course they are all wonderful. I have a whole new appreciation for the songs after seeing the number of people that are in the band! Besides Juanes himself, there were 2 back-up singers, 3 guitarists, 3 drum players, a piano player, a trumpet player, a trombone player, and a saxophone player. Quite the group!

The work week (for me) finished off with a trip to see a fellow Fulbrighter play at an open mic night at an Irish pub. Everyone there spoke English. Napala and I lasted about an hour before we jetted out, wondering how many of the study abroad students spend way too much time there. 

But it was all good because we had made it into an event by going to El Cisne Azul, a restaurant that specializes in setas (mushrooms), beforehand. Though we obviously didn't fit in at this bity local joint, Napala and I squeezed our way up against the bar (the woman gave us quite the glare when we tried to sit down at a table that was opening up) and we ate the best mushrooms and greatest chorizo I've ever had. Thank you to Napala's professor's chef friend (this is pretty much the way I connect with people now) for the suggestion!

Now before I go (and before you all think Spain is paradise), I must recount my trip to the Oficina de los Extranjeros (Foreigner's office) yesterday.

After gathering all of the documents for my NIE and taking an hour long metro ride, I headed off to the office that had no address. Awesome. I found another Fulbrighter and began the walk in the direction of the massive Carrefour, feeling hopeful that we would also find the office. Five minutes into the walk, we weren't so confident and decided to ask the next people we saw. Shortly after, two young people started walking toward us. Then, as we began to ask them, the guy said "Oh hey!" and we realized they were also Fulbrighters. Go figure. He had talked to his friends and found out it was the opposite direction; it was a big yellow and blue circus-like building that could be seen in the distance.

We arrived at the office, went through security, and got in a winding line of people for our "appointments." Yes, they give you an appointment to go wait in line (which was being monitored by police) for 2 hours. So fun. And when I finally arrived at the first desk (there is then a series of desks that you have to wait in line for to get your fingerprints taken, etc.), I was told that my number was messed up and my appointment was not yesterday. Whaaaaaaaaat?

This happened to about 10 Fulbrighters, so Victoria came rushing over and made sure the woman got my phone number so she could call me about when my appointment actually was. (No, there was never any hope of just moving my appointment so the 4 hour excursion was worth it.) The woman (unwillingly) took my phone number and repeatedly told Victoria that she wasn't going to call me. 

So I have no idea when my appointment is, but Victoria told me to go back in 10 days if they didn't call me. I will probably have to have Fulbright call over and verify that before I waste another 4 hours standing outside a building that looks like a bizarre mix of a jail and a circus.

Moral of the story? Don't complain about waiting in lines or scheduling for appointments in the U.S.A. It is, in fact, quite efficient.

But for now, I'm forgetting about it. I'm enjoying my cozy sweater, slippers, and new Cinnamon and Mandarin candle. Now onto a few e-mails before rejoining life outside my bedroom!

Much love,

Amber