First, a brief aside that is essential to understand the story. Most grocery stores have an area near the front of the building where patrons can lock up their wheeled grocery bags. I usually just use our bag as my shopping cart, wheeling it about the store as I shop, but a couple weeks ago Joni was told that all outside wheeled bags need to be stowed at the front of the store. Knowing this, I was sure to lock up my wheeled bag before entering Mercadona on this fateful Monday.
After completing a mostly successful jaunt through the store using the Mercadona-sanctioned basket/cart, I went to unlock my wheeled bag so that I could load my groceries after paying. I emptied the contents from the Mercadona cart onto the belt and began the shuffle toward the register. At this point, a woman approached and asked if she could use my now-empty cart. I consented, and she took my cart, leaving me with my own wheeled bag and a bounty full of food edging ever closer to the cashier. Yeah, I can see what it looks like, clearly I just broke the first (and only?) rule of Mercadona shopping, violating their hallowed laminate tile with my street-worn devil-may-care wheeled bag. The cashier looked up, with the weight of another thankless shift hanging under her eyes. She asked me if I had broken the rules, and as I began to protest my Spanish flew straight out the window. I was understanding her, but somehow suddenly lost all ability to communicate anything besides "No, no....no..." Finally, some chunk of memory broke free and I blurted "¡Una mujer grabar mi carta!" which translates to "A woman writing my letter!" Unimpressed, the cashier proceeded to scan my food whilst muttering something and shaking her head disapprovingly. Granted, this all may seem very minuscule, but after a day riddled with false starts and blank stares it felt colossal. I have since spoken with more confidence and coherence, so I rest assured knowing not all has been lost.
Exploring the City: This past weekend took us south to explore the wonders of Granada! Situated in a prime position to access the sunny beaches of Andalusia and the grand mountain peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this city is quite literally surrounded by natural beauty. Granada is also home to La Alhambra, an ancient palatial city dating back as far as 900 AD. Now it is a UNESCO World Heritage sight and a mecca for tourists and students of empirical history.
Prior to our trip, Joni had a student tell her that this place is stunning in the sunlight. Unfortunately for us, our visit was cloudy and misty. Still, it was a different kind of ambiance that guided our steps through the historic grounds where Columbus received the commission to set sail toward America.
Like much of the rest of the town, La Alhambra sports Moorish architecture - a reminder of Spain's history fraught with undulating empirical rule. The hallmarks of this style are the easily recognizable doorways along with bright tiles decking the walls and floors.
In addition to the main palace building, the grounds of La Alhambra feature sprawling multi-terraced gardens that were stunning even in the winter. We could only imagine how spectacular this place must be in full bloom!
This is the view from one of several "miradors" in Granada - vantage points from which we could look out over the city. If the day were less cloudy, the peaks of the Sierra Nevada could be seen in the distance.
Not wanting to miss out on the chance to see snow, we boarded a bus from the city that wound up a rather steep road to a ski resort. Since our time was so short we did not end up on the slopes, but the ride alone was worth it for the mountain landscapes.
We stopped to get some hot chocolate at a café on the mountain, and of all the things that could have adorned the wall, we found an Arizona license plate!
Extraordinary, no? We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but not nearly as much as a young boy of perhaps eight sitting a couple seats in front of us on the bus. He was with his grandpa, and recording a video for his mother. Words can't possibly capture the excitement, but here are some of the memorable phrases we overheard:
"This is phenomenal!"
"I cannot believe how high we are!"
"Look at all that snow!"
"What if this bus turned into a plane?!"
"I have so many questions for God when I get to heaven, like, how did he do all of this!"
It was quite the trip, and we won't soon forget the earnest and gleeful affinity this boy possessed for the majestic mountains.
Memorable Meal: We both heard from several people prior to traveling that Granada is known for its tapas culture. Unlike most of Madrid, where one must pay for and order specific tapas dishes, almost every bar or café will serve up a complimentary mystery dish with the purchase of any drink. So for dinner one night, we decided to try our luck with a handful of eateries. Over the course of three different stops, we received ham sandwiches, weird home-made bagels with fries, and bread with olive oil and thinly sliced pork chop. This is apparently the thing to do, and there were more than enough places to plop down and soak in the local scene.
En la clase: Both Joni and I had the pleasure of taking a free Spanish class this week from student-teachers at La Aventura Española. It was the first time I had been in a formal class setting for almost four months, and it was such a different experience after having been on the teaching side of things for so long. The more I teach, the more I empathize with anyone who dares to have embarked on this perhaps foolhardy endeavor. Both of our classes were wonderful, however, and we look forward to the next chance at being guinea pigs.
On the English side of things, our lessons this week focused on relationships and dating in honor of Valentine's Day. Regardless of the level, each class played a version of "spin the bottle" where students constructed questions about love and romance. There was some confusion initially when I asked if anyone had heard of the game. One student nonchalantly proclaimed that his son plays this all the time, at which point I realized he was thinking of the bottle flipping craze that has stirred youths the world over into a nonsensical frenzy. Once cleared up, the classes seemed to have a good time spinning the bottle and asking one another not-too-inappropriate questions. Another word that perhaps never fully conveyed was "crush." Joni and I each heard students opine that such a word and even a concept doesn't exist in Spanish. It is a very direct culture, but I have a hard time believing that any inkling of attraction is bluntly professed at the earliest opportunity! Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Joni taught a student how to sew. Here's the heart that Ignacio (hands pictured) stitched upon with guidance:
Final Notes: While we had intended to count Granada as our Valentine's present to each other, Joni and I did end up going the route of exchanging gifts as well. The bounty? A bag full of scrumptious dried fruit and adorable panda card (complete with a poem in Spanish) for me, and an interactive virtual reality pop-up book with a paper model of the Madrid skyline for Joni. Much like Halloween, this commercialized holiday is a relative novelty to Spain and hasn't really taken root in the country. Nevertheless we had a beautifully understated evening celebrating our love on a day to which Spaniards seem largely indifferent.
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