Lost in Translation: This week was entirely comprised of time spent around English speakers, so words were not lost in translation. Being back in the U.S. did cause us to notice some things we may not have discussed before. For me, it has been a very long time since I regularly drove in cold weather (as I haven't commuted to work by car since 2013). Madrid is noticeably warmer than northwest Ohio, but even in the coldest parts of our time in Spanish winter we are always on the move. Since we rarely take the bus, commuting time is spent walking or sitting in a warm train car.
Stores are also very, very big in the U.S., and it's strange to be able to go into a store like Meijer and find everything you could possibly need. Oh, and many of these stores are filled with people who look the same. This is probably indicative of fashion trends in an urban vs. rural setting rather than any kind of country-to-country difference, but I think it's also a product of just being on foot all the time and being more attuned to the clothing of people all around us.
Finally, we did see snow fall! It was quite the treat to see flurries of snow, and even have a small amount of the white stuff accumulate. I won't miss driving on snowy/icy roads, and I hope nothing holds up our return to Madrid this Saturday.
Memorable Meal: We've had the incredibly good fortune to eat ourselves silly with Joni's family. While every day brought a new scrumptious treat, the two most memorable meals we had came on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. On December 31st, we had our "family Christmas" with the Martins where we exchanged gifts and had the traditional breakfast of cinnamon rolls and egg casserole. The next day, the first of the new year, Joni's extended family came over and grazed off of the finest party food in the land. Nacho dip, taco dip, BLT dip (with real bacon!), grape salad (with Butterfinger crumbs!), chocolate cake freak out, veggies with dip, meatballs, barbecued pulled pork, and much more. If I were a bear I'd sure be ready to hibernate for the next several months!
Along with all this great food, we enjoyed playing lots of games, good conversation, and putting together this puzzle from Disneyland Paris that Joni's mom was excited to receive:
We also attended one of T.J.'s freshman basketball games.
That same day, we made 6 batches of Chex Mix using the ingredients we received for Christmas. This stash should last us a while, and it'll be nice to have our favorite snack available in Spain! A little taste of home :)
En la clase: No classes this week! For the first time since September, we neither took nor taught a class. It was a strange feeling, and this time off felt akin to the lengthy reprieves between semesters in college. I read an entire book (an entire book!) in three days. I have a feeling next week will be hard...even with the relatively small amount of hours I'm scheduled to work.
Final Notes:
We met our new nephew, Marty Blee! He is now 7 weeks old. It was great to snuggle with him and simultaneously be entertained by the ever-energetic Jade, Marty's 3 1/2 year old big sister.
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| Jade loved her new Flamenco dancer dress from Spain! |
We rang in the new year surrounded by family, and at the last minute remembered that we wanted to participate in the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight for good luck. The only grapes in the house had already been made into grape salad, but that worked just fine! We just didn't have time to count them out onto a plate for everyone, so my mom got to use the serving bowl.
It was so nice to have some quality family time and lazy winter days. Now we're headed back to Madrid to make the most of the next 6 months! Hopefully they will be filled with language learning, travel, and clarity for what's to come post-Spain.
Happy new year, and happy Three Kings Day!
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