As some of you may, or may not, have known, one of my private lessons wrote and published a book in English about wine. Last year he was working on the book and I helped him to correct and edit it. We spent several weeks of lessons going over corrections and thinking of better ways of translating certain sentences. After all his hard work the book was finally published about a month ago (and I got my very own signed copy, oh la la). Several newspapers interviewed him about his book and this is one of those interviews. And the best part is that I am mentioned in it! For those of you who can read Spanish, read on, but for those who can't, the article is all about his book and the unusual format of English/Spanish. It also talks about the contents of the book such as: how is wine made, qualifications of wine, weather, different types of grapes etc. And in the 6th paragraph my name is mentioned for helping him translate the book! The author of the article forgot to put my last name, but hey I know it's me so I'm happy! So enjoy! And now you can tell everyone that you know someone "famous" haha.
Talking About Wine: Rioja
Monday, November 14, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
It's Everywhere!
Have you ever realized that once someone points something out to you, you seem to notice said thing everywhere? Well that has definitely happened to me the past couple of weeks as a couple of things have been pointed out to me and now I can't go anywhere in Logrono without noticing them!
Firstly, someone mentioned something about the old men (or men in general) loving machinery and construction. Bam! Right after that was said to me, I was walking to one of my private lessons across the train tracks and saw a long line of old men just staring at the big cranes and construction! I thought maybe it was a fluke but they were still there when I walked past an hour later, and still there two days later, and a week later, etc. I find it funny that not only had I not noticed it until someone told me, but that it literally is 'the thing to do' for these men. They gather, and talk, and stare, and just have a grand old time watching the construction. Now if only them staring would make the men work faster and we would therefore have a nice, new train station pronto (instead of the old, bombed out looking one we currently have).
Secondly, people from different countries use different hand gestures or sounds to say different things. It is no different in Spain. Yet again someone mentioned to me the unusual way many Spaniards say no to something. Instead of just simply saying no or shaking their head, they add in a 'tsk, tsk' sound (which I can't accurately portray here but if you have heard it you know exactly what I am talking about). Again I had never really paid attention to it or took notice of how they said no here, but once my attention was caught, I now hear it everywhere. My 8 year old private lesson student did it in class today when I asked him if there was a shower in his bedroom, my students constantly do it in class if something isn't correct, even my teachers will use it if a student says an incorrect answer. I hear it so much that I have even caught myself doing it a couple of times and have had to stop myself. Although I am considering picking it up to be more Spanish haha.
It's little things like that that I find myself suddenly noticing, even though I have lived in Logrono for a year and have lived in Spain four separate times.
Firstly, someone mentioned something about the old men (or men in general) loving machinery and construction. Bam! Right after that was said to me, I was walking to one of my private lessons across the train tracks and saw a long line of old men just staring at the big cranes and construction! I thought maybe it was a fluke but they were still there when I walked past an hour later, and still there two days later, and a week later, etc. I find it funny that not only had I not noticed it until someone told me, but that it literally is 'the thing to do' for these men. They gather, and talk, and stare, and just have a grand old time watching the construction. Now if only them staring would make the men work faster and we would therefore have a nice, new train station pronto (instead of the old, bombed out looking one we currently have).
Secondly, people from different countries use different hand gestures or sounds to say different things. It is no different in Spain. Yet again someone mentioned to me the unusual way many Spaniards say no to something. Instead of just simply saying no or shaking their head, they add in a 'tsk, tsk' sound (which I can't accurately portray here but if you have heard it you know exactly what I am talking about). Again I had never really paid attention to it or took notice of how they said no here, but once my attention was caught, I now hear it everywhere. My 8 year old private lesson student did it in class today when I asked him if there was a shower in his bedroom, my students constantly do it in class if something isn't correct, even my teachers will use it if a student says an incorrect answer. I hear it so much that I have even caught myself doing it a couple of times and have had to stop myself. Although I am considering picking it up to be more Spanish haha.
It's little things like that that I find myself suddenly noticing, even though I have lived in Logrono for a year and have lived in Spain four separate times.
Madrid: City of Modern Art and Jamon
First off I apologize to any avid reader of my blog (if I have any haha) for not posting in a while. I have been quite busy with lessons and class, so I will do a mass update/blog posts to make everyone happy. The end of October/beginning of November is a holiday here in Spain; what's called a puente (bridge). Since Spain is a Catholic country we get all Soul's Day off which is November 1st. And since the Spaniards love to party or have any excuse to have a day off work, they have 'created' this fabulous 'invention' called puente. They bridge the days off so instead of having to go to work on Monday and then having Tuesday off, they just give you Monday off as well... brilliant? I think yes!
So since we had a 5 day weekend at the end of October, Cait and I went down to Madrid for a couple of days. We met up with some childhood friends of Cait who came in from Italy and the U.S. for a week to visit. It was definitely a wonderful visit and a much needed change of scenery, as we hadn't left Logrono since we arrived. We got in on Sunday and met up with said friends and walked around. We walked to the Palacio Real, but didn't go in (one palace is enough to see right??) since it was almost closing time. We did walk into the cathedral near the palace, which I have been told by several Spaniards is 'the ugliest cathedral in Spain'. I wouldn't call it ugly, but it certainly wasn't as breathtaking as the cathedral say in Sevilla. After walking around the city for most of the afternoon we were pretty exhausted so stopped for something to eat at Museo del Jamon. Now for a little 'Katie's a blonde' moment. I had been told by several people that I HAD to go see the Museo del Jamon and so was talking to Cait and Diane about what to do in Madrid. I mentioned that I wanted to go here right after Cait said she wanted to go to the Museo de Reina Sofia. Now mind you, the Museo del Jamon (unbeknownst to me) is not a museum at all. It is in fact a chain of restaurants. So I thought I was being all artsy and academic by suggesting we go to the Museo del Jamon, when really all I was getting at was that I wanted to eat large quantities of Jamon.
And that is just what we did! While Museo del Jamon is not a real museum in the normal sense, it is a wonderful mecca of jamon! They serve everything with jamon, so we of course ordered two plates full of jamon and queso and chorizo and pan! After stuffing our faces, we left as happy campers. The next day we did indeed go to a real museum, the Reina Sofia. Guernica by Pablo Picasso is housed here and that was essentially all I really wanted to see. I am not a huge modern art fan, but do love museums and art and being a nerd in general, so the hour plus wait in line was worth it. That night was Halloween, but since this is not a special holiday in Spain we did not end up dressing up. There were people dressed up, but only as zombies or vampires or ghosts. Spaniards think that Halloween is only for dressing up as something scary or frightening, and use Carnival for dressing up however you please! We tried to go to a concert by El Guincho (if you haven't listened to him I highly suggest it... he's amazing!), but by the time we got there they weren't letting any more people in the door... bummer.
The next morning Cait and I made one more stop before we hopped back on the bus up to Logrono... Starbucks! Yes that's right, we were extremely American and had to stop at Starbucks. But let me tell you that Chai Tea Latte was heaven and just what I needed and tasted like fall... ahhhh! It was a great trip, but it was definitely good to be back home where it wasn't so crowded or big or overwhelming (in my opinion). Madrid is a wonderful city and one I definitely want to go back to!
So since we had a 5 day weekend at the end of October, Cait and I went down to Madrid for a couple of days. We met up with some childhood friends of Cait who came in from Italy and the U.S. for a week to visit. It was definitely a wonderful visit and a much needed change of scenery, as we hadn't left Logrono since we arrived. We got in on Sunday and met up with said friends and walked around. We walked to the Palacio Real, but didn't go in (one palace is enough to see right??) since it was almost closing time. We did walk into the cathedral near the palace, which I have been told by several Spaniards is 'the ugliest cathedral in Spain'. I wouldn't call it ugly, but it certainly wasn't as breathtaking as the cathedral say in Sevilla. After walking around the city for most of the afternoon we were pretty exhausted so stopped for something to eat at Museo del Jamon. Now for a little 'Katie's a blonde' moment. I had been told by several people that I HAD to go see the Museo del Jamon and so was talking to Cait and Diane about what to do in Madrid. I mentioned that I wanted to go here right after Cait said she wanted to go to the Museo de Reina Sofia. Now mind you, the Museo del Jamon (unbeknownst to me) is not a museum at all. It is in fact a chain of restaurants. So I thought I was being all artsy and academic by suggesting we go to the Museo del Jamon, when really all I was getting at was that I wanted to eat large quantities of Jamon.
And that is just what we did! While Museo del Jamon is not a real museum in the normal sense, it is a wonderful mecca of jamon! They serve everything with jamon, so we of course ordered two plates full of jamon and queso and chorizo and pan! After stuffing our faces, we left as happy campers. The next day we did indeed go to a real museum, the Reina Sofia. Guernica by Pablo Picasso is housed here and that was essentially all I really wanted to see. I am not a huge modern art fan, but do love museums and art and being a nerd in general, so the hour plus wait in line was worth it. That night was Halloween, but since this is not a special holiday in Spain we did not end up dressing up. There were people dressed up, but only as zombies or vampires or ghosts. Spaniards think that Halloween is only for dressing up as something scary or frightening, and use Carnival for dressing up however you please! We tried to go to a concert by El Guincho (if you haven't listened to him I highly suggest it... he's amazing!), but by the time we got there they weren't letting any more people in the door... bummer.
The next morning Cait and I made one more stop before we hopped back on the bus up to Logrono... Starbucks! Yes that's right, we were extremely American and had to stop at Starbucks. But let me tell you that Chai Tea Latte was heaven and just what I needed and tasted like fall... ahhhh! It was a great trip, but it was definitely good to be back home where it wasn't so crowded or big or overwhelming (in my opinion). Madrid is a wonderful city and one I definitely want to go back to!
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| Palacio Real |
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| The 'ugliest' cathedral in Spain |
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| Reina Sofia |
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Beautiful Water
Yesterday Diane, Cait, myself, and one of Cait's private lessons Mikel decided to spend the day doing something different than hanging out in Logrono on a Saturday. We piled into Mikel's car, survived the steep curves and crazy driving of a Spaniard and made it to a national park called Urederra. Urederra is located in Navarra, the province of Spain right next to La Rioja. Urederra is fairly close to Estela in case anyone feels the need to look on a map and find out exactly where it is! It wasn't the most beautiful of days, but we made it work! We packed our bags with jamon and queso bocatas and some water and set off on an absolutely stunning hike. The hike is about 3 hours long there and back and it was well worth it. Urederra means beautiful water in Euskara (Basque language) and it was aptly named! Throughout the entire hike you come across these amazingly blue pools of water and waterfalls. The hike wouldn't take 3 hours if you didn't stop and gawk at the serene pools of the most vivid blue you can imagine. We definitely felt like we were in some sort of paradise or in the movie Blue Lagoon. Multiple times we had to stop ourselves from trying to jump in, as clearly the water is that blue because of some sort of acidity level or bacteria. All in all it was a wonderful day and I hope to have many more days of hiking and seeing the beautiful country where I live!
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| Walking through the town |
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| This must be paradise |
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| So blue! |
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| I want to live here |
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| There were waterfalls everywhere! |
Money, Money, Money!
This year is already different in many aspects from last year. For starters, I am teaching at a high school and not at an elementary school. I have never taught high schoolers before so was a bit nervous going to my first day of class last Monday, but I love it! They can understand me when I talk to them, they have a great sense of humor, they listen, and they don't pick their nose and then wipe boogers all over you! What a joyous day when I can come home from school and not be covered in slime and snot. Not that I don't love the nenes, but this is a wonderful change! I am teaching at the oldest high school in Logrono and it is only a 5 minute walk from my piso.... definitely a different commute than last year! Not only are the students amazing but so are the teachers. They are so warm and welcoming and have made me feel a part of the school in just one week. I have already been invited to numerous lunches and dinners and am treated as a colleague, not just the 'lectora de ingles'. Sadly I don't have the same schedule as last year with no class Mondays or Fridays, but I do have Fridays off and only have 2 classes on Monday. I am done every day by 1:45, which leaves me plenty of time to do private lessons! Which leads me to reason number 2 why this year is different....
Last year I had some wonderful private lessons and it was a great way to supplement my income from the program, but it was more pocket money than anything else. This year I have a whopping 12 lessons a week so far! Can you say cash money?! They certainly keep me busy in the afternoons, but not too busy so I can't enjoy a little siesta or some gym time or a beer with friends. It will definitely be nice this year to be making more than pocket change with my lessons (I'm making the equivalent of our monthly 'income'... cha ching!)
And last but not least I am not starting off in a new place this year like I was last year. When I got back to Logrono, I was coming 'home' and it felt like I hadn't left for more than 2 weeks. Now some people may consider this bad, but for me it's a great feeling! I know where I'm going (well most of the time anyways), have a great group of friends (both Spanish and American and all different parts of the world), I know what and where the good pincho bars are as well as the other bars, and overall I am just very comfortable being back here. I certainly miss Chicago and home and family and friends, but (Mom this should make you feel better) it's a good feeling to know my city and love it so much that I wanted to come back for another year!
Here is the link for my school's webpage in case anyone wants to see what's going on!
http://www.iessagasta.com/
Last year I had some wonderful private lessons and it was a great way to supplement my income from the program, but it was more pocket money than anything else. This year I have a whopping 12 lessons a week so far! Can you say cash money?! They certainly keep me busy in the afternoons, but not too busy so I can't enjoy a little siesta or some gym time or a beer with friends. It will definitely be nice this year to be making more than pocket change with my lessons (I'm making the equivalent of our monthly 'income'... cha ching!)
And last but not least I am not starting off in a new place this year like I was last year. When I got back to Logrono, I was coming 'home' and it felt like I hadn't left for more than 2 weeks. Now some people may consider this bad, but for me it's a great feeling! I know where I'm going (well most of the time anyways), have a great group of friends (both Spanish and American and all different parts of the world), I know what and where the good pincho bars are as well as the other bars, and overall I am just very comfortable being back here. I certainly miss Chicago and home and family and friends, but (Mom this should make you feel better) it's a good feeling to know my city and love it so much that I wanted to come back for another year!
Here is the link for my school's webpage in case anyone wants to see what's going on!
http://www.iessagasta.com/
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Life Would Be Awesome...
... if learning a new language were this easy! Too bad it's not quite that way, but one can only hope right?? I need to find this for French and Portuguese and I'll be all set! Enjoy!!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Viva La Rioja! Viva Logroño! Viva San Mateo!
This past week was San Mateo here in Logrono, the city's biggest festival. Seeing as I am a smart traveler, I planned my return here to coincide with the start of the festival (see my life isn't all made up of blonde moments!) San Mateo is a week long festival celebrating wine and the vendimia (the picking of the grapes). The harvest officially starts after this festival and grapes and wine are offered up to the Virgen de Valvanera (who is the patron saint of La Rioja). The week long celebration is full of parades, eating, drinking, and just an overall sense of partying! It was definitely the right time to come back to Spain and, although it wasn't as crazy as I had expected, it was still a great time with fireworks every night, nightly concerts from some big name bands, great food, great wine (as always), and lots of fun! And if the Spaniards know how to do anything great, it's throw a party! Here is a video of one of the parades that passed right by our place!
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