Typical Thursday in Jerez

Although the most popular nights to go out in Jerez are primarily Friday and Saturday nights, it has become a tradition among me and my friends to extend our weekends and go out on Thursdays as well.

Here is a glimpse into a typical Thursday night for me and my friends in Jerez at our favorite bar, Dama Juana!

A taste of Morocco

Last weekend was a long weekend in Spain with with holidays on Sunday and Tuesday, so I naturally took advantage of the time off and spent a long weekend with three other au pairs in Morocco.

We took a ferry from Algeciras to Tanger and spent two nights there in a nice hotel.

Sunday we took a taxi to another village nearby called Asilah and walked around there for the day.

Here is a glimpse into my experience, but I must say for me, the best parts of Morocco were not what I saw but what i tasted from the couscous to the mint tea, all of it was fabulous and of course I ate way too much for my own good!



Luckily nothing was stolen from us, nor were we stolen, as Morocco tends to have a reputation for, and as we were incredibly careful being four young girls in a foreign country, I can gladly say we had a safe and therefor enjoyable time!

Birthday celebration...

So even though my birthday was last weekend, I still have not gotten around to writing about that three day celebration.

Thursday night I went out with my au pair friends and ended up on a date with a couple of Spanish guy friends, but I was able to ring in my 22nd year at midnight in my favorite bar, Dama Juana, with my favorite friends all around me.

Friday, my actual birthday, I worked the whole day, but for the merienda, afternoon cafe and snack time, two of my friends made me a chocolate cake with Pineapple and strawberry sauce and I blew out all but one of my 22 candles as I made my birthday wish (which I of course cannot share!!!)

It was a nice little party and I received an angel shaped candle and chocolate from my host family, homemade bracelets from the neighbor children, a balloon from my four year old girl, and two homemade key chains from my closest friend here, Melanie.

Saturday night we made a plan to go to Cadiz and spend the whole night bar and club hopping, since the first train back Sunday morning was at 8:10. We saw a couple really interesting bars to begin the night, and ended at some cool clubs in the shipping docks in the old part of the city.

Here are some pictures of the progression of that night and just silly photos of me and my au pair friends. Enjoy!



I also received a cool camera necklace from another friend and I used some birthday money from my mom to buy some new Spanish clothes, which should not be a surprise to anyone! I even received a birthday card from my Grandma that arrived on my actual birthday, much to the shock of my host family.

All in all, though I was reluctant, and still have not wrapped my head around the idea of being 22, it was a good birthday celebration!

Futbol

http://www.elmundodeportivo.es/gen/20091129/53834487386/noticia/1-0-el-barsa-gana-al-madrid-en-el-clasico.html

So I feel it is fitting, to share a little bit more about myself through this blog about futbol (soccer).

I began to notice this past week with my Spanish family here that I am feeling more and more comfortable and at ease in the house as the routine becomes more normal and less of a constant battle to understand and do well in my job as an Au Pair here.

I am also beginning to share more of my life with my host family here, which has been really amazing in how that has opened up the communication between us in general.

However, I digress. My point in sharing these updates was also to share one thing I admitted to my host family during our large midday meal together, and that was that my love for sports begins with a tie for first place with tennis and futbol.

From there we began to discuss the upcoming game in Jerez between Jerez and Barcelona. The travesty and reason why I will not be attending the game is because the futbol club of Xerex has jacked up the prices astronomically so that even the season ticket holders have to pay half price, and the cheap bad seats cost a minimum of 75 euros!

Xerex has just entered the first division this season to join the hearty and practiced clubs like Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, and quite a few others, but I have already been told that since it is Xerex's first year in this division they don't have a prayer to win and maintain their status in this division, but back to my story...

Well those terribly priced tickets, for a Xerex game, go on sale tomorrow morning at 10 am, but the father sadly reported to me that to get tickets I would have to get in line around 4 am and then of course pay more than I make in a week!

Apparently its a big and important game, but I have trouble believing that since I spent my evening tonight at a bar watching the highly anticipated match between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Though it was cold, the t.v. was too small to really see the game, and my toes were wet and cold, I enjoyed myself greatly, sucombing to the futbol fever and discussing my team preferences and everyone looked into each others eyes with a serious expression and asked the essential question of the night, Madrid or Barcelona?

Of course, I have been a hopeless Madrid fan for a few years, as cliche as that may be. So it pains and saddens me to report that Madrid lost to Barcelona 0-1 tonight.

I shall be reporting more on the culture of futbol here in the coming future, as I am just now becoming more involved in its culture here in Spain, and I may even be joining a mixed team of English teachers here to further my immersion in the sport that has always held my heart and soul.

Happy Thanksgiving

As we sat around the table, the same as most days, preparing to eat the big meal of the day in true Spanish style at 2pm, I began to think about what I was most thankful for in that moment.

The father had gone out to buy a roasted chicken and the mother had made mashed potatoes from a box after running to the store to buy an apple tort, as similar to an apple pie as she could find.

We sat to eat and I explained that Thanksgiving for us is a day to remember when the pilgrims came to the new land, America, and the Indians gave them food. This whole story seemed to take on a new perspective for me, being in the old world and imagining this taking place all the way across the Atlantic, what a new and interesting feeling for me!

I then explained that we must all say one thing we are truly thankful for today.

The father started by being thankful for his family, as he named each member, including me at the end as the newest member of that family. Then the mother said thanks for me coming to live with them. Pacha, surprising us all, gave thanks for the mashed potatoes, as we all burst out laughing.

To conclude the thanks I told them, with a stirring in my heart for how true it was for me, how thankful I was to be with them this Thanksgiving. That I was so fortunate to share an experience of family and thanks with my new Spanish family and for receiving all the loving attention of preparing such a special meal for me today!

After eating twice as much as I thought I possibly could, in true thanksgiving fashion, I gladly forced down a slice of "apple pie" with a smile on my face and joy in my heart of how special a thanksgiving this year was for me.

Now you are all wondering what I am talking about eating a thanksgiving meal today, because of course it is Wednesday, and therefore now I must confess that I confused the days and told them Thanksgiving was today, so today we celebrated thanksgiving, which was another blessing as tomorrow I am not eating with the family, but going to a bodega to sample local sherry with the other au pairs here in Jerez, the land of sherry.

I think it shall be the perfect balance between an American tradition and holiday, that I was able to share with my family here, and a sample of the heart of Jerez de la Frontera and the region of Andalusia, the soul of Spain, my new home for this year.

Photoshoot in Chipiona

Last Sunday I went to Chipiona, a happening beach city in the summer, but very relaxing for me and my au pair friend Melanie in the middle of November. The sun was out most of the day, and though we had a few strange spanish men staring at us through binoculars for a couple of hours, the day was both relaxing and enjoyable overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.



Maybe the best part of the day was when two nuns came strolling onto the beach and then played in the shallow water for almost an hour, enjoying themselves so much that Melanie and I had to laugh at such an uncommon site.

We ended our time in Chipiona with a photoshoot, much of which you have seen above.

To see this album and all my others of my adventures in Spain, click on the colorful link in the bottom right hand corner of the slideshow made possible by Picasa web albums and my canon powershot!

Arcos de la Frontera

Today, Thursday, I took advantage of my free afternoon by escaping the city life of Jerez for a 35 minute bus ride through the unplanted fields set upon rolling hills on my way to Arcos de la Frontera.

The Amarillo bus, that cost 1.5 euros from the bus station in Jerez, dropped me off at the base of the city set upon a cliff and overlooking a fruitful valley.

I walked up the city streets to the Plaza de Calbido and ate my lunch on the steps of an ancient castle, now a private residential area, with a wonderful view of the vally, the church of Santa Maria, the old castle, and the parador.



After I finished my lunch I was anxious to look inside the Parador as I had read about them before I even came to Spain. They are old private, expensive, and exclusive rich houses turned by the Spanish government into hotels of sorts where the Spanish love to retreat to for a relaxing and lavish weekend away.

This was one such Parador and as I wandered the halls surrounding a tranquil courtyard with beautifully designed walls filled with classic Spanish paintings.

I ended upon a balcony with a tinto (red wine) made here in Arcos, chilled perfectly to counteract the untimely heat from the unobstructed sunlight as I looked over a view that quite literally took my breath away.

To the left was the ruins of St. Peter's Church and far below at the base of the cliff wound the River Guadalete out of the mountains to the East and South East. Even way off in the distance to the South West I could see the windmills that mark the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

The wine was subtle, yet lingered on my tongue in a pleasant kind of way that gave me the sense that the wine had been crafted over multiple centuries here in an ancient city on a cliff where many of the old buildings span back to the 1600's or so. The taste was not fruity, but also not bitter enough to pucker my lips from.

Of course I am no expert in the tastes of wine, but to describe it best I would call it a relaxing pleasant wine for 3 O'clock in the afternoon on the patio of the parador with the cooling breeze blowing playfully around my face as I soaked up, maybe, the last of the autumn heat here in Arcos de la Frontera.

Finally my photos from my first trip to Cadiz, last weekend!!!

These are the photos I took on my first trip to Cadiz with another au pair named Sara. We walked around the old city first along the Atlantic Ocean and then to the Bay of Cadiz.



Cadiz has become my favorite city in Spain and that is mainly because of its breath-taking views with the perfect backdrop of the ocean and the bay.

More of Cordoba from my Nikon D90...

In case you were wondering, no I did not return to Cordoba. The reason why I am still posting pictures from that trip is that its takes me awhile to sift through the photos and put them together on a slideshow suitable for viewing on my blog.

I hope you enjoy these photos I took while wandering around Cordoba, and of the outside of the famous Mezquita turned into a Cathedral.




And if you click on the rainbow circle in the bottom right hand corner you can see these photos and more of my time in Spain in a larger size!

Par-tay in Spain

While this article that I have posted the link to here highlights the downfall of binge drinking in public places in Madrid, I can safely say that that is not the case here in Jerez!

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/spain/091106/spaniards-fight-their-rightto-par-tay

Here is my story of how I discovered public drinking in Jerez de la Frontera.

One night after coming home from going out at the normal Spanish time of around 5 in the morning, I was on the verge of passing out in my bed from exhaustion when I heard the faint sound of music coming from somewhere nearby.

The sound made me hopeful of finding a cool place to party near my house for the next weekend. I thought maybe it was a large club or some nearby concert, but as I passed into sleep I quickly forgot all about it.

The next Thursday I went out to a bar to meet up with another au pair and a Spanish girl she had met. The girl was called Blanca, a very very common name for girls here in Spain, and although she spoke some English, once she found out I can speak Spanish, she switched to the normal rapid and sometimes strange to hear Jerez Spanish.

While she was driving us home from the bar, we passed by the train tracks and she pointed out a very large group of young people hanging out by their cars in a giant empty parking lot.

Blanca explained to us that while drinking in public in Spain is illegal, at this particular location in Jerez the police allow the young people of the city to gather on the weekends to drink, listen to music, hang out and of course, drink some more without ever disturbing the social gatherers.

Naturally I realized this was a custom of Jerez that I would have to experience for myself, to write about here in my blog of course.

Well, anyways, a few more weeks passed and I tried to get the other au pairs to go there to drink, but they did not fully understand what I meant when I said it is a massive place for nothing but pre-gaming before heading to the discotechs around 2-3 in the morning.

Finally on Halloween I was able to convince the girls I was with to check it out, and so as we shared our 1 Euro bottle of pre-mixed sangria and peach alcohol (and no I don't want to comment on what we were drinking) as we walked between the rows of cars checking out the people(the boys' faces, and the girls' clothes).

So while the young people might be disbanning in Madrid from these giant public drinking parties, here in Jerez the custom is alive and well, and well thriving as 9 au pairs have joined the ranks of those flocking their every weekend for some drinking, socializing, and public fun!

Alcazar de los reyes cristianos

This slideshow runs through some photos I snapped upon my arrival to Cordoba last weekend as I visited an ancient palace in the city center.
The photos range from my view from the highest tower overlooking the famous Mezquita turned into a cathedral to the exposed ruins of an ancient Moorish bath.
Enjoy, and more photos of Cordoba and Cadiz are coming soon!

Conquering new seas

A side note before I begin this blog. I have recognized and wish to improve upon the fact that my blogs have been less frequent lately and seriously lacking in the interesting details I wish to define this blog with, so I am going to attempt over the next couple of weeks to rectify that. Please hold me accountable!

Now about today!

The original plan for today really changed almost hourly as my anticipation for me free day increased throughout the week, which was being fed by my left over excitement from Cadiz and Cordoba the weekend before. Finally we all agreed to go to the little village of Rota, where the American Air Force base is located and see some American boys in the American bar.

Naturally I was not super thrilled about this idea, but I was anxious to meet the new au pair who lives across the garden from me.

When we arrived at the bus station we were, well they were, disappointed to find out that the afternoon bus to Rota on Sundays has been canceled. It had literally been whited out from the schedule.

I quickly and enthusiastically suggested we cross the road to the train station and check the time for the next train to Cadiz. We all agreed to create a new adventure today and wing it without a guide book or map.

We bought all seven tickets to El Puerto de Santa Maria together as the train was leaving two minutes after we decided to take it, and then ran onto the train just as it began to pull out of the station. Afterwards I became aware that the conductor was kindly waiting for us to buy our tickets and board the train before he left, truly demonstrating the relaxed Spanish mentality that I am coming to hate/love here.

I am starting to see how deeply the idea of siesta penetrates the Spanish culture and life in everything here in Spain.

From the train station in El Puerto we walked 10 minutes in the general direction of the dock where a ferry will take you across the Bay of Cadiz in just 40 minutes to the city for just 4 Euros round trip (Ida y Vuelta). We had to wait 50 minutes for the next ferry so we sat at a nearby cerveceria and had a coke lite while we waited.

Meanwhile I began to get to know the new au pair, who is really short, but so nice, she reminds me of one of my really good friends from school in Texas:). She is Austrian along with the majority of the other Au Pairs, the other two being German, but her English is surprisingly good and that surprised me as I spend much of my time with the other au pairs discussing what words to use in English, how to use them and oh so often how to pronounce the slang words in a Californian way. lol.

The man selling the tickets for the ferry warned me in Spanish that the water crossing the open part of the bay would be a little rough today for maybe 10-15 minutes, which I assumed would be true, as the clouds loomed in and the wind began to build.

I stood with one other brave au pair for the majority of the journey on the second level of the boat in the front as we rocked and bounced sideways from one giant swell to another for the most exciting and scary fifteen minutes of my time here in Spain so far.

As one particularly large swell hit our boat at the precise moment that we were recovering from the previous wave the splash that resulted from the collision was so enormous both the other au pair and I caught a face full of fresh ocean mist that put an enormous smile on my face and sent me screaming with laughter and pleasure for being at sea once again in my life.

When we finally approached the city harbor and the waves began to lessen a little, I had a wonderful sensation of feeling like I was another invading nation, just having bested the seas attempts to bar me from the ancient city, and ready to make my conquest upon Cadiz and its many treasures.

Just one other au pair and I, who we both had discovered Cadiz through an afternoon of wandering its cobblestone narrow streets while breathing the fresh ocean air the Sunday before, led the group through the beautiful city to my now favorite Cathedral in Spain and to our merienda (afternoon meal time) of cafe con leche in the plaza overlooking the bright and wonderful Cathedral.

I shall not write more about this Cathedral here, but save my love writing for its own blog that shall be coming soon. I therefore end this blog by declaring my raptures for the city of Cadiz and staking my claim on its ancient soil as my favorite city in Spain and one that shall be, in the coming months, thoroughly explored and captured with my weapons of the drawing pencil and camera lens!

The setting sun over Cordoba

After driving the A-40 from Jerez de la Frontera, around Sevilla, and to Cordoba for two hours, I was dropped off, in the city by my Spanish family, for an afternoon of exploring by myself as they visited family there.

At first, and like I always do, I wanted to orient myself. So I picked up a map from the tourist center next to the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos, and impulsively I paid 2 Euros to enter into the old palace and I climbed the tower to have my first view of the uber famous Moorish Mosque turned Christian Cathedral.

Sadly I was not drawn in by the magic of the place, or at least not at first. I even brought my Nikon D-90 for its first trip in Spain and could not get inspired even in my pictures of Cordoba.

I wandered the compact winding streets and still I could not understand the "magic" of Cordoba.

So I did what I do best, I went shopping. I found a cute purple blouse/dress for 10 Euros from H&M and I tried on many more crazy and super cute dresses to pass the time.

After buying some wheat bread for .70 cents and having a cafe con leche a little later I felt much better and ready to give Cordoba another chance to inspire and enchant me.

By then it was 17:30 and the lighting was beginning to greatly improve for my photos, which of course made me instantly like the city more. I guess you could say I began to see it in a new light! (Sorry I set that up for a perfect pun and had to throw it in there, I dedicate my first pun in this blog to Jessica Davis)

Finally, as the sun was setting and I crossed the Guadalquivir River on an ancient Roman Bridge, I began to fall in love with the city.

I had read that much of the interest in Cordoba today is knowing the significant history the city holds, but that the best time to see the city is at nightfall. And so it captured my heart too as the sun set over the river and I looked back into the city once again.

Also of interest in the shopping in Cordoba, I made a couple of touristic purchases. I bought small silver hoops from a typical silver jewelry shop for 3 Euros and a hand crafted and painted ceramic bowl to decorate my room in Jerez that was actually made in Cordoba for 5 Euros at an Andalucian ceramics exposition across from the Cathedral.

So even though I did not instantly fall in love with Cordoba like I did with Sevilla last weekend and Cadiz yesterday(more blogs on that soon), I am glad I gave the city a second chance and that I was able, in the end, to capture some of its magic and bring a little bit of it home with me too!

Puerto Real and Halloween...

Yesterday was Halloween, and even though it is not a Spanish holiday, it is becoming quite popular with witches and devils running the streets of Jerez all night long. But my Halloween adventure really started much earlier than the night.

I worked, as was normal, until 13:30 and then ran up to my room to change into my purple bathing suit and head to the beach, since the weather was scorching and even though it was practically November, people in Spain are still flocking to the beaches, amazed themselves at how late the heat has stayed this year.

I met another au pair in the city center and we walked to the train station. Now I now I have said this a million times already, but on the weekends in Spain, you really just never know when the public transportation will be going, or how long you will be waiting at the different stops along the way to your destination.

A great example of this was my trip to the beach yesterday where it took me, through a couple of mishaps, three hours to get to a beach that is normally 10-15 minutes by car away from Jerez.

Instead of taking a cercania (close) train that stops at the beach we wanted we accidentally took a mediadistancia (mid-distance) train headed for Cadiz, not knowing it did not stop where we wanted to go. By the time we passed our stop and asked the attendant where to get off we were two stops passed where we wanted to be, in Puerto Real.

Now I have never been through Puerto Real before so I cannot vouch for its attraction as a nice place to visit that is close to Jerez, but I must confess that after spending over an hour in the unseasonal Spanish sun at the tiny train station waiting for a train to take as back to where we wanted to go, I am not partial to the city!

The good news is that on Saturdays everything is more relaxed in Spain, so no one checked our tickets and we hopped on and off the train without having to pay more for our little detour.

We made it to the beach an hour before sunset and were able to kiss the cheeks of our friends we were meeting just before they had to head back to Jerez to work, and then we witnessed a beautiful enormous Spanish sunset over the Bay of Cadiz with the city itself set against the vibrant colors.

The sky here in Spain just seems larger than most of the other places I have visited in the world, although I really cannot explain why, and being right at sea level it stretched even a little further than normal as the almost full moon rose on the darkening east and of course the sun to the west.

So after a stressful and frustrating day of running and waiting, I, without intending to, was able to relax and take in the sounds of the beach and fully appreciate that I am living in Spain and that I am so blessed as to be able to enjoy so much beauty so often here.

Well after a small dinner of a ham and cheese sandwich and cafe con leche at a local bar, we headed home and prepared for a long and interesting night of Halloween in Jerez with the promise of all the young people coming home from the university for the weekend.

Though I could probably write another blog altogether about our adventures that night, I will summarize it by saying I wore my zebra print dress and painted part of my face to match it and headed out with a bottle of spiked sangria to enjoy the town and with a vow to not pay for another drink that night.

We succeeded with our promise and I made it home just before the sun rose, completely my odd day that started in the play room with the baby, passed through Puerto Real, and ended with me using a baby wipe, or two, to wipe a zebra design off my face.

I might just have to call it my strangest and best Halloween yet!

Sevilla by pictures...

Sevilla

This past weekend I went to Sevilla from Saturday afternoon until Sunday evening. Of course everyone has heard at least something about how amazing Sevilla is, or they have experienced it themselves. So what do I write in my blog about Sevilla?

To get to Sevilla from Jerez de la Frontera there are three ways, although only two are available to me, train, bus or car. Since it is always important to remember that in Spain, and especially in smaller cities, the weekend always has a more limited availability for transportation, shopping, and access to necessities.

I did not check the train schedule before getting to the station, which I would now always suggest to do, even if the train says it leaves on the hour, and found the next train was not for a couple of hours.

Luckily the bus station is right next to the train station in Jerez and I was able to catch a bus for only 7.30 euros with an easy 1 hour and ten minute drive from Jerez to the center of Sevilla.

The bus station is conveniently located next to the parque Santa Louisa, which is also located very near the city center of Sevilla, making a first visit and orientating yourself quite easy and, well almost entirely pain free.

I say almost pain free because my choice of shoes for the two day trip were my new Macy's open toed ankle boots, that sadly failed to comfort my feet just after stepping off the bus in Sevilla.

Despite the pain, walking around the city was really an enjoyable experience with all the Moorish architecture, horse drawn carriages and expansive blue skies. The weather was warm for this time of year, and even going out at night I was comfortable without a jacket.

Unlike Jerez, Sevilla maintains a steady flow of people throughout the day as there are many more tourists in Sevilla. I could not help but get excited to see all the other people walking around in the early afternoon and feel the anticipation for what the night would bring.

I have found that in Spain, with the night comes the Spanards. I stayed in a new and comfortable hostel on calle Sierpes, the main shopping street in the center of Sevilla called Hostel Nuevo Suiza with breakfast, internet, international telephone, and coffee inlcuded in the very reasonable price. Yes I did say there was free coffee included with the Hostel and you can bet that I took full advantage of that, practically paying for the three person private room in the amount of coffee I consumed in just under 24 hours.

Of course my budget for the trip was lower than the normal traveler, being only 65 euros, my weekly pay here in Jerez. I managed to survive the weekend spending just 65.45 euros. including transport, room, a nice filling Spanish lunch on Sunday, and even a new sparkly shirt from H & M for just 20 euros that I used for going out.

As I mentioned before, the night is the time of the Spanish, and as the sun set, and the busy shoppers outside our hostel, well we were included in those shoppers, left the closing stores around 9 pm, a new rush began.

A rush to get ready and get out into the city. Sevilla is famous for offering riverside bars, discotechs, or clubs, and high class flamenco. I of course went for the cheaper and visited the local bars for the majority of the night. Popping into one called The Oscars, where I was given a flyer to have a free drink. Then I hit the bars across the river on Calle Betis along the river front with a spectacular view of the lit up Cathedral that you can see from practically anywhere around the city.

We had a couple shots at a bar for just 1 euro each and finished the night about a five minute walk into Triana at a Salsa bar, which is not all that common to find in Sevilla.

The next morning was a trip into the impressive and ancient Cathedral of Sevilla that proclaims to be the third largest after those in London and Rome. While the giant complex was shocking to behold from outside, once I stepped through the door, I found it vacant and a little creepy.

After a nice Spanish lunch eating from the menu of the day with a paella, lamb, fish and finishing the meal off with arroz con leche, I spent the afternoon resting on an ornate bench in the Plaza de Espana, getting home around 9 in the evening.

Out of all that I did and saw in my short first trip to Sevilla, I would have to summarize the city in just one word, culture. It is truly a magical city bursting forth with culture and creativity. This first trip to the city was really just the first bite, to learn the flavor and orient myself, but it left me only wanting more and more, and it looks like I will be making many return journeys!

The blazer!

Confessions of a shopaholic...

Anyone who did not see this blog coming obviously does not know me very well. For those of you who don't know me that well, while some may say I have an addiction to shopping, I call it just another aspect of Spanish culture I must thoroughly explore!

In coming to Spain, and specifically to Jerez, I knew a few things already about the culture. The flamenco, sherry, and horses, just to name a few cultural items, and of course I cannot neglect Zara, the icon of Spanish culture to the world.

I naturally had had a taste of Zara while "familiarizing myself with the London culture" and since coming to Spain, and well in truth, the entire month preceding my entry to Spain, I have been impatiently awaiting my full immersion into this aspect of Spanish culture and life.

It completely and utterly did not disappoint!

As I stepped through the doors and began simply to browse and collect prospects for future purchases, I groaned when my eyes fell upon a pair of knee high dark tan leather boots in the traditional style of Jerez that all the fashionable young women of Jerez wear. They were a mere 95 Euros! Hence the groan from someone like me who makes just 65 Euros a week as an au pair.

As I said, I was only in Zara to get the lay of the land. I promised myself to not spend anything this week and save my money for a much anticipated trip to Sevilla this weekend, but after one round through the women's department alone I was back in the swing of easy shopping I perfected through a summer of living at home in Southern California.

So I decided I would try on a few basic items moderately priced, which are really essentials for this new colder fall weather in Jerez. Having already made my mental notes on four such items, and having successfully found the dressing room hidden in a corner of older woman's clothes, I "quickly" grabbed an aqua sweater priced at 12.95 Euros, a black long sleeve knee length jersey dress for 16.95 and riding style skinny pants, 29.95.

The real prize was a man's style blazer with the wool ovals on the elbows like English gentlemen wear in a tan to compliment my hair color and a single button to flatter my curves. It was the perfect length!

To bring all this back to reality and to end my little shopping confession, after witnessing the culmination of Spanish culture and influence in one clothing store, I found, through the justification that I needed another jacket, I must have the blazer and I purchased it for 40 Euros.

I walked out of Zara feeling a rush of cultural immersion and just a little bit more Spanish myself!

Tastes, well almost, just like home!

Today I picnicked in the park with the other au pairs and for lunch I quickly made myself a peanut butter sandwhich and packed some
crackers and a peach for myself while the baby slept precariously on the couch and waited for the parents to get home, then when they arrived I headed out the door!
I met up with the other Au Pairs in the park and enjoyed a great, though small lunch chatting with the girls about our fun, yet tiresome au pair work.
After lunch I headed to the carrefour with a couple other au pairs to put more money on my pay-too-much-as-you-go phone. I wanted to check out some possible new tea flavors since the green tea in my house basically tastes like green water. As I marched through the countless aisles of who knows what, that all seemed to blur into one word, hunger.
I am still getting over a cold, and adjusting to the new food here, so I attribute my gluttony to those two things, but as I walked home and took a nap later, I could not get my mind off of food, and especially food from home.
I mentioned earlier that I had a peanut butter sandwhich and that was because my family here graciously bought me a jar yesterday as a surprise when they came home with the groceries.
None of the other au pairs seemed that excited about the peanut butter, and one commented on, "oh yeah its an american thing". lol. I agree, it is totally an Americans love their peanut butter thing. Almost as much as the spanish love their mayonaise thing.
So, as I was laying in bed listening to the sounds of my family and neighbors, I thought about what specifically I could make that did not include bread or pasta. I came up with two solutions.
1. pancakes
2. potatoe pancakes
So really I had pancakes on my mind, and I completely blame the peanut butter from my family, that I had already enjoyed on a banana and toast, and of course my peanut butter sandwhich.
I quickly looked up a recipe for homemade pancakes online, then one in spanish to make sure i knew what all the ingredients were called, then headed downstairs to work my magic of improvisation as there were no measuring utensils in the house!
Luckily the family was all out of the house and did not witness the near disaster I had of spilling some oil and throwing dashes of random ingredients in, but in the end I got two banana pancakes and one regular that I saved for breakfast tomorrow.
On top I spread some of my precious peanut butter that was really the culprit for this whole endeavor, and in the end I was satisfied with my cup of, well, mild tea and two banana pancakes that really, almost, tasted like home.

La playa y los caballos de fotos

La playa y los caballos

Sunday is my absolutely free day from working, and as the weather is uncommonly warm for this time of the year, the other au pairs and I went to the beach.
From Jerez we took a bus to the train station using our bus passes that for a whole month only cost 18 euros. Then we took a train that costs 1.50 euros each way to El Puerto de Santa Maria, only like 10-12 minutes away, and finally we took another bus through El Puerto to get to the bay of Cadiz.
From the beach we could see the Peninsula of Cadiz on the other side of the bay, and sail boats and wind surfers enjoying the protected waters of the bay. The water is dirtier than when I was in Zahara on Friday, but that is to be expected from a bay, which also offers a little warmer water than the open ocean at Zahara. As I waded my way into the water I was worried about what possible animals or fish I could step on, not being able to see the bottom clearly, but then I was re-assured by the other au pairs that the waters of this area do not have sting rays.
Since all the other au pairs I have met speak German, and they have to practice their English to speak with me, I am going to learn a few words in German every time I am with them. At the beach we worked on the numbers, which I kind of already knew up until 10, so its a long road till I will be understanding anything they are saying about me in German.
That night after we got home at 10 pm after waiting a long time for the two different buses, a thing not too uncommon, especially on a Sunday in Spain, as the schedule of buses and trains is more limited than on a week day. As the last bus usually hits each station around the 10 o'clock hour we took a taxi into the city for 4.30 euros and walked up to the old castle on top of the hill to hear a free concert by a local band called los dilcuentes, or something like that.
As we held hands through the crowd I noticed how uniquely so many of the, probably all the young people in Jerez and the surrounding area, where dressed. There were punk rock, alternative, fashionable, less-is-more-revealing, and of course the typical spanish dressed people. I will wait to explain this fashion for another blog after I am able to sneak some photographs to go along with my descriptions.
Then today, which is Tuesday, I took the baby on a walk to the carrefore, which is actually French owned, and is really just like a giant walmart. After I was able to find some face wash and body lotion, no easy task, and the prices of cosmetics and bathroom essentials is more expensive here in Spain, I took the baby to a cafe to have a cafe con leche, coffee and milk and I fed the baby yogurt.
Then we were walking home and I was waiting for the baby to fall asleep when we passed the famous Equestrian school of Jerez. I stopped to point out the white horse running around to the baby and the guard said I could go in. So for about 20 minutes I stood in the shade as the baby and I watched the horse trainers running the horses around, cleaning out stalls, walking some other horses and all of them smiling at the baby. lol.
I snuck a few photos, unsure if I was even allowed to take them, and decided to come back another day to get more photos and information on the place.

Donde Europa se encuentra a Africa

When we arrived at the beach in the little town of Zahara, that is a summer getaway for people from all parts of Spain and especially Madrid, my Spanish family pointed out to me that through the haze and just across the Atlantic Ocean you can see Africa. As I squinted my eyes and could barely make out the outline of a mountain across the water a thrill went down my spine of just how amazing the place where I am living is. To see a place that represents, through both its location, landscape, and architectural heritage the interaction of two continents and completely different histories, cultures and people, of Africa and Europe coming together between a short distance of ocean to influence one another. Of my limited travel experience in North Africa, I thought that the village of Zahara reminded me a lot of many of the places I visited around the country of Tunisia that also falls along the coast of North Africa. More than all this the thrill I felt upon witnessing another continent before my eyes so suddenly came from the connection that this small strip of land and sea provides between two completely different worlds, where Europe finds Africa.
The drive in car from Jerez de la Frontera to Zahara takes roughly 58 minutes through countryside and just maybe two small towns. According to my family the beach we went to just east of the town of Zahara and within their beach house community complex is the best in Spain. The beach stretches for at least a mile and the sand is clean, except for the occasional trash, and filled with interesting shells weathered down by the waves and small rocks that are smooth and perfect for skipping. The beach has an embankment before you reach the water, but nothing at all insurmountable and beyond that the water is refreshing for October and the waves come in sets with strength but not too roughly. As I tested the waters I saw a surfer enter the water to my right along the beach, though few other people were out because as today was a Friday, and October is no longer summer, not very many people go to the beach anymore. Today was a local holiday in Jerez, but only here, so the children did not have school, but everywhere else they did. We had little traffic on the drive in except for the occasional tractor or truck and though there were some people walking around Zahara, I have been told that in the summer you cannot find parking there and the town grows by about 1000 percent. In the winter the residents of Zahara live off of fishing and agriculture. Driving back to Jerez at night I could see the lights of the boats heading out to sea to begin a long night of fishing that will not end until 4-5 tomorrow morning. Though the weather was pleasant today apparently normally Zahara, up the river that enters the sea north of the city and in the surrounding countryside it is quite windy and wind generated power comes mainly from this area for Spain. Even driving into the area I could see some large windmills but it was not even until the late afternoon that enough wind arrived to begin turning their large blades.
As always for me, the beach is a place of my heart, no matter what country or continent or ocean I am dipping my feet into, therefore today, though busy and full of playing with children, was a restful one for my soul and one that restored some peace to my mind and body after a long week of adjustments here in Jerez. Even though the weather was warm at the beach and I was able to get a little more of a tan, the cool days are fast approaching in the South of Spain and in another week or so I will be able to wear a sweater and pants at the same time.

Beach trip to the town of Zahara

Pescado

For all you non Spanish speakers I have a little lesson to teach you, and it is about the difference between un pez y pescado. Un pez is a fish, and pescado is fish. As I sat at the dining table awaiting the classically late and rather large spanish lunch with a plate of fish in front of me and a little fish swimming in the tank across from me I did not really care what the differences between a pez and a pescado were, I was completely concentrating on the task at hand, get a half fish larger than my hand down, and keeping it down, while the little innocent fish swam around its tank, accusing and taunting me at the same time.
Earlier I had stood in the kitchen and watched as multiple plates of fish and shrimp were prepared in different ways for this grand meal. The reason for our large meal today was that the sister of my employer and therefore daughter of the grandma who helps me care for the children was coming home from a vacation in Russia, full of interesting stories to share during the meal, though that only becomes important later in my story. So I watched as the grandma prepared the food and we chatted in spanish about food from different places and what we like to eat/bake/not to make. One thing became clear while I watched her prepare this dish, the meal to come was going to be one that affected my entire life in these coming months while living in Spain, would I be able to enjoy many of the local and traditional meals of Spain the so often contain all sorts of sea food?
Now back to the large fish on my plate. I strategically waited till everyone was sitting and already beginning to enjoy their own food before I even began to pull the fish scales away and pry it off the bone. To an experienced eye it must have been completely obvious that I am completely inexperienced in de-boning a fish. Finally I valiantly made my way to the white, or mostly white meat, and yes with the cute little fish still happily swimming in the background. I took my first small but courageous bite...
... and I realized that if I were to enjoy fish, in a place where it dominates their food and comes fresh from the oceans of the Mediteranean and Atlantic, this would be the place. It had a slight hint of butter to it, or maybe that was just the rich olive oil grown abundantly in this region of Spain and used daily in their cooking. I took a few more small bites to see if I was just attempting to convince myself that I would enjoy this, but no, as I consumed the whole half of fish handed to me by a family that yes knew I did not particularly enjoy fish. Now even though the fish tasted quite good, and to those who know me, they must know how large a stretch it is for me to say a fish tasted good, there was still the emotional and mental aspect to eating the fish that I was not sure when my mind would catch up with me and I would suddenly run for the bathroom.
Here is where the fortune of the traveling sister comes in. Though all her stories were in Spanish, she spent the meal relating to her family of her travels in Moscow and of seeing the tomb of Lenin. The grandma watched me as much as she watched her daughter relate these stories, constantly surprised and impressed that I understand what her daughter was saying. Through the distraction of the stories and the savoring flavor of Andelucian cuisine, I successfully enjoying my first fish and further conquered my fear of eating fish but finishing the meal with a snack of smoked salmon with a cream cheese filling with walnuts and a salad of shrimp, tuna, potatoes, and corn.
Though I must beg forgiveness for spending an entire post bragging of my success with the local cuisine, I can now with confidence and in my own conscience recognize the difference between un pez y un pescado, the one you eat and the other a beloved pet.

Some random photos I took with my cannon powershot today while walking around Jerez

Domingo,
Since arriving in Spain on Thursday night I have woken up at 5 in the morning each day and been unable to return to sleep.
As was to be expected today i woke up at 5:04 am and yet I was able to go to sleep again till 9 am. This is just one example
of how I am already adjusting to living here. A large part of me is just impatiently waiting until I am totally adjusted to
life here and will not have to be guessing and feeling awkward all the time, yet I keep reminding myself to realize every moment
as it comes and enjoy it for what it is. I know that even in just a month I will look back and wonder at how I saw everything
around me at first and how different it all appears now, so I am attempting to enjoy the honeymoon stage of adjustment while it
is here. After attending Catholic church with my family here and learning what it really means that Spain is a catholic country,
here in Jerez there is little else except Catholic churches, I took a rest acquainting myself with Spain's local t.v. network
then I took a half hour walk to downtown Jerez. I wondered the almost empty streets for about 45 more minutes then sat at a bar
under an umbrella and sketched some architecture for awhile. As was to be expected I had a couple of whistles and some heads turn
in cars, but really little other interaction with other people. One lady was attempting to move her chair past my table and she asked
me to move the chair next to me a little back in Spanish then followed the request with the comment, "If you can understand what I am saying to you"
as I was in the middle of politely telling her that she could take the chair next to me, the one blocking her way, I just moved the chair back and
did not comment in return. I ordered a cerveza and received a pale beer that tasted European. What does European taste like, I am not sure I
can describe it exactly, I just thought when I took the first sip that it reminded me of some pale ales I had in London and that it was
light and refreshing in the afternoon heat. All the shops I passed through downtown where closed because it is Sunday, but I appreciated this
as it prevented me from indulging my recently acquired shopping addiction. Since all the shops where closed I had time to think through
what I would want to buy and decided that I am only going to buy things when I realize a need for them. An example of this is that I did not
bring a small purse/bag to carry around day to day, therefore my next shopping project will be to find the perfect purse...

Here is a limited and unclear view of my room!

Acabo de llegar...

So I have officially been in Jerez de la frontera for twenty four hours, but I have still seen so little of the city. I am impatiently still in the adjusting phase and simply cannnot wait till my jetlag is over. My bedroom here is more of a loft abiding the third floor of the house. I also have a balcony maybe three times the size of my room just beyond some sliding glass doors. My room is decorated in black and white with red accents, most everything in the room appears to be from ikea and follows the practical, simplistic and yet stylish style that classifies most european homes, at least in my mind. Really the room is quite nice and just right for me.
The children I have been hired to play with are a girl, who is four and a half, and a baby boy who just turned one. The little boy and I took a walk through the park near our house today and together we discovered the beauty of the dancing water springing from the many fountains in the park. The park was quite large and a little wild looking with many large trees, but also well groomed with my paths, benches and smaller themed gardens within its grounds. Some of these smaller gardens had interesting names like the music garden, jardin de musica, and the romantic garden, jardin romantico, and even one called the forest garden, jardin forestal. Also found in this labrynth of a park are many peacocks and as we would turn a corner and see some, I loved to see the look of surprise and joy spread over the little boys face as we watched them simply walk around and eat grass. There were many mothers also walking their children and some even said, hola to me. I even saw one young couple strolling through the park and enjoying the same birds and flowers and the child and I.
Maybe one of the things I am most greatful for at this point is that the spanish here is not as hard to understand as I imagined, or at least not when I am awake enough for it to sink in!

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Hola! Y bienvenido a mi blog!

Welcome!

My goals for this blog are to share mostly pictures and unique experiences that I encounter while living in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. This area is most well known for its excellent sherry, which originated in this area, horses, including the famous equestrian school here in Jerez, and even flamanco dancing comes from this area. Of course there are many more secrets that this city of 200,000 people holds and I intend to discover them.

Such as another little known fact is that Spanish Brandy also comes out of this small city and through all these basic facts we learn that Jerez de la Frontera is quite simply the quintessential place of Spanish culture.

Para mi blog, quiero compartir mis experiencias aquí en Jerez de la Frontera. La mayoría de las cosas que voy a compartir es mis fotos de la cuidad y la región de Cadiz y Seville donde vivo. También quiero compartir las cosas que encuentro y voy a descubrir algunos secretos de la cuidad por mi tiempo y experiencias aquí.

Hasta Pronto!