Weekend Trip

Top to bottom: The view from the top of the fortress in Valenca, Portugal; Matt on a rock at the ocean; the fortress at Baiona; Matt in front of a monument at Baiona; the Baiona port (the wooden ship is a replica - actual size - of the Pinta, of Christopher Columbus)

Thanksgiving Pictures!

Top: Friends in our kitchen: (from left) Nicky from England, Matt, Jenny and Jonny from Tennessee
Bottom: And it was good. All week.

Pictures!

In order: Matt waiting in line at the police station; sunset over the ocean at the beach Samil in Vigo; the crowded bus at night (same as during the day, really)

A Happy Thanksgiving

Okay, this will be a long story because it begins a month ago. Matt and I were chatting of being away for the holidays and I was feeling a bit blue while reminiscing of my family’s traditions and events I would miss. Matt boldly suggested, “Why don’t we invite our friends over for a traditional Thanksgiving meal?” I immediately loved the idea but was overcome by fears of cooking using Celsius and metric measurements, the task of finding the right groceries, and anxiety our guests would not enjoy themselves. So I cautiously mentioned the idea to Johnny and Jenny who were wholly supportive; that set the plans in motion! Yet Matt and I did not do much for planning until last Monday when we began inviting our guests. Our apartment is small but cozy, so we decided to limit the number of people to 8 or 9, including Matt and me. Thursday morning dawned rainy and chilly and the city’s attitude was that of another workday, but we were bursting with the excitement of our holiday plans! Matt and I worked as a team. I went to our 9 am class and then completed my daily workout at the University while Matt went to the Corte Ingles with his detailed list in hand. When I arrived at home at 1:30 in the afternoon I was quite pleased with his success! He had found an actual turkey – the only turkey – plus all the other groceries I had requested. The rest of the afternoon we spent tidying up and arranging the apartment to make things look cozy and inviting. We made a fast trip to the Internet café to read how to bake a turkey; I’ve never even thought of making one before! Towards early evening, I chopped up all sorts of fresh vegetables, sliced fresh French bread, and cubed the cheese. Nicky arrived around seven and immediately set to work preparing mashed potatoes. Johnny and Jenny arrived around 8 with all sorts of groceries in tow. They don’t have an oven at home, so they brought all their stuff to prepare in mine! Their contribution included green beans, macaroni and cheese, and pie. Our Spanish friends Gabriel, Vera and Bruno arrived at 9 pm bearing traditional Spanish desserts and Nicky and me made up the gravy and finished the corn while Matt sliced the bird. Though we didn’t find cranberries or Stovetop, our meal was a feast! Matt prayed over our meal and then we thoroughly enjoyed explaining the foods to our Spanish guests. I was so anxious, however, that I could barely taste my food! I was terrified the turkey was overdone or underdone and that we’d all be sadly disappointed that our cooking is average compared to that of our mothers’ and grandmothers’ excellent fare. Thankfully, everything was tasty and we even got compliments on the turkey! Even more rewarding was the conversation and the laughter; I do think everyone had a good time and for that I was delighted. By the time everyone left at 12:30 am, however, I was exhausted! I was moving towards the kitchen when Matt wrapped me up in a big hug and we giggled together over the success of the evening. I am still so pleased to have this enjoyable memory, me and Matt’s first Thanksgiving as a married couple, and here in Spain, and such a nice evening! We hope you all enjoyed the time with family and friends, ate the pumpkin pie that we didn’t, and feel rested and rejuvenated for the week ahead. We wish you all a happy Christmas season!

Becoming Residents of Vigo

Last Monday Matt and I spent the day at the national police station. Well, not the entire day, but here is the story…We got up early on a cloudy Monday morning with the intentions of taking care of our trip to the police station. We were there a few weeks ago and were told to come back in ten days to confirm the acceptance of our paperwork for a residence card. We trekked down the hill to claim our spot in line but did not make it until 8:45 when the station opens at 9:00. We waited those few minutes and then found out that they had given out all the numbers for the morning by the time they reached us in line. So then, Matt and I really weren’t sure what to do because our next class at the university began at 1 and lasted until 3. However, we were advised to return to the station in the afternoon for the evening hours; numbers were to be handed out at 5:00. So we made up our mind and went to the university to work out and for the first hour of our class and then we got back on the bus back into the city. Guess what! This time we were in line at 3:30! I sat comfortably on the sidewalk and read a book and Matt did the same. Around 4:15 it started to drizzle and a light fog drifted through the city. Still we maintained our posts in line as more and more people joined us. By 5:00 I was miserably chilled and a bit frightened and even entertained by the people arguing around us about their proper place in line. In moments such as those, we don’t even try to speak Spanish! This time we thankfully got a number as the police officer walked around with his tickets and we then set about to wait until the station opened at 5:30. We were numbers 24 and 25 – not too bad! We were shown in at 6:30 and then we heard the happy news: Matt and I have been accepted as residents of Vigo! We are quite happy and pleased that our documents were correctly translated (Thanks Jorge!) and that the government is satisfied with our applications. Now we must wait only 45 more days until we go BACK to the police station to pick up the cards. Goodness gracious what a process this has proven to be!

Some More Pictures!

Hey everyone! This is our pool at school. Though we don't technically own it, it may as well belong to us. Right behind the person taking the first picture is a 6x6 (or so) jacuzzi. Aside from the pool, we also have a smaller weightroom area with some treadmills and 3 squash (raquetball) courts. Not that I've ever even seen it, but I think there's also an arobic area where Heather does some girly stuff. Enjoy the pictures! (And we love reading comments..so please don't be afraid to post away.)

Our everyday "boring" lives

Matt and I do not have much news to share with you all this time, only random stories of our everyday life. For instance, last Friday there was a big party right on campus hosted by the university’s telecommunications faculty! Matt and I ate breakfast in Vigo and then waited patiently for a bus, not expecting anything to be out of the normal. Well, as the R University bus came, we were surprised at the number of young adults getting on, certainly more than normal for a Friday. Now on the bus, we just couldn’t believe our eyes as guys passed around jugs of beer and liquor and smoked cigarettes and more…at 10 am on the city’s public bus! Things on campus were even more rowdy. The university invited the city’s young people, and as Matt and I walked to the gym from our classroom for our daily workout, we passed the site of the party. There were at least a thousand people walking around, drinking, and jamming to the live bands. In fact, it seemed as if people (and mayhem) were everywhere! Now we only stayed on campus until 5 pm, but Nicky stayed later and unfortunately waited until one of the last few buses to get home. She described the scene to us: hundreds of college students, most of them drunk, fighting to get on the few buses in order to get back into the city. The last bus for Vigo leaves at 9 pm, and at 8, there were far too many people to manage to fit on the few buses that leave from the university and travel to the city. Thankfully, Nicky made it home with the help of her Spanish friend. And today on campus, the Monday after the party, there were quite a few cleanup crews working to clean up the aftermath! Such is life in Spain.

The best news of all: We found a nice Protestant church in Vigo! One afternoon I was walking around Corte Ingles and a woman handed me a tract explaining how to become a believer in Jesus Christ. I was so excited and pleased! There are local missionaries even in Vigo! Matt and I carefully read through the tract and found it to be biblically sound, and that same week Jenny and Johnny mentioned they were going to check out a church, and it just happened to be the same one. So we happily made our plans to meet and attend the main service which is held weekly at 7 pm. We found the church to be just wonderful! The people are unbelievably friendly and welcoming, the music is beautiful and upbeat and is accompanied by various instruments, and the message is challenging and even understandable. I can’t explain how good it feels to be in a church again, to see the warm smiles of fellow believers, and to know you are in a place of worship and fellowship.

Speaking of fellowship, the Spanish believers are bold greeters! It is normal in Spanish culture to greet friends and family or a new acquaintance with a kiss on each cheek, and even Matt and I are getting used to the kissing. Our kissing experience in the church, however, tops it all! Of course, being new and foreign drew a lot of attention our way, and the pastor paused in his welcome to ask us to introduce ourselves to the congregation. At the end of the service, we discovered they have a 5 to 10 minute period to say hello and to ask how one another is doing. Well, we were quite surprised by the hearty hugs and kisses members were giving one another…and then they came towards us! What followed was at least fifteen minutes of meeting the church family one by one; each new person greeted us with hugs and kisses. The welcome was warm and appreciated, though I admit I blushed the entire time under the attention of countless kisses!

What else? We discovered that the local grocery store Eroksi is cheaper than its rival Gadis and have accordingly chosen our favorite place to buy our groceries. I finally obtained my student bus card from the university; now it costs only 48 cents each ride. On Saturday evening, we went to an American friend’s birthday party at a restaurant in Vigo. There were friends from America, France, Italy, and England at the restaurant to help Christina celebrate her 21st. We followed Spanish custom and met at 10 pm and enjoyed tapas before eating the main course. Oftentimes, tapas include bread, fried mushrooms, spicy green peppers with sea salt, octopus, calamari, and more. Matt particularly likes the pulpo, or octopus. It is boiled and then served soaked in olive oil and paprika. The taste is interesting and I enjoy pulpo too, though the sight of the suckers turns my stomach. Anyways, the evening was enjoyable, though Matt and I were happy to escape home around 1 am. Yesterday, we went to the movie theater at Plaza E and watched an American animation movie, though I only know the Spanish title “Colegas en el Bosque.” The cartoon was funny and we weren’t afraid to laugh out loud!

So that’s it, really that is all there is to share. I hope you didn’t find our news to be too boring! Our daily life here is truly becoming more normal, and sometimes I have to remind myself what an adventure living in Vigo really is. Although the reminder never is too far away, what with campus parties and restaurants that serve octopus as an appetizer!

Matt in the Atlantico

Well, here it is...a surprise that is a surprise to us as well. It came out a couple of weeks ago, but this is the first chance I've had to upload the picture. The article is a split about my experiences and the experiences of a (honest truth) Italian Model/Actor. Though he's not famous, as far as we know, it just shows the odd difference in the interviews. Italian is very similar to Spanish, making the language almost second nature to them. The interviews were all in Spanish (quick Spanish speaking), and most of what I said has been 'improved' to read as it does. I'm half the centerfold page, the Italian model is the other half. Enjoy!

The Bones

Here are some of the delicious bones we ate for the dead saints day.

An uncanny Halloween

We celebrated Halloween at one of our favorite restaurants, Hollywood, so conveniently located in Plaza E. Earlier that afternoon we enjoyed a coffee at the University’s cafeteria with our American friends Johnny and Jenny. We were sharing funny stories of embarrassment and things we found out through accident and other important friendship building anecdotes among fellow foreigners. Well, Johnny casually asked if we had been to Hollywood, to which Matt and I shared our excitement of the restaurant mainly because of the free refills on sodas. This practice of free refills is particularly anti-Spanish, even in restaurants such as Burger King and McDonalds and Pizza Hut where one would expect refills. Hollywood, therefore, is the place to go when one wants to enjoy American food AND free refills, and both Johnny and Jenny readily agree!

That evening at the University’s bus stop, Matt and I decided at the last moment to jump on the U2 bus, which goes to Plaza Espana (a short distance from Plaza E). After browsing in several shops to wait for the restaurant to open at 9 pm, we went in and were escorted to a booth in the back. What a big night for Hollywood! They had decorated for Halloween with spider webs and the like; additionally Seville’s soccer team was playing a rival English team and the game was broadcasted on several big screen televisions.

Matt and I patiently read the menu thoroughly to make sure we weren’t missing even one tempting entre before asking for a nacho appetizer. The waitress shook her head no and told us our choice wasn’t available. Matt and I weren’t terribly disappointed – instead, we ordered an appetizer with chips, salsa, and quesadillas. For our main dishes, I ordered a barbeque burger and Matt ordered a chicken wrap. We immediately set to work on draining our glasses of Pepsi in order to enjoy as many free refills as possible while we munched on our appetizer. When our food was brought out, I unfortunately found my hamburger was pink-ish red, and I just could not bear to eat it. Matt sacrificed his chicken wrap for a few moments to devour my hamburger, but in the meantime a waiter came by to ask if we wanted to order desserts. Matt answered yes, but then immediately asked for the bill. Confused, the waiter asked in Spanish, “But don’t you want a brownie or coffee?” to which Matt answered, no thanks. The man then swept away Matt’s plate with the half eaten wrap; Matt, however, thought the waiter had asked if he wanted the rest of the food in a box to take home. When the waiter came back with only the bill, poor Matt realized his sad mistake and said in a goofy voice, “Hasta la vista comida!” (See ya later food).

We began to laugh hysterically and were only interrupted by…Jenny and Johnny! They had decided to come to the restaurant at the last minute as well! We laughed and told of Matt’s disappearing meal; Johnny corresponded with his story. He said, “Yeah! Me and Jenny asked for a nacho appetizer, but they don’t have it tonight. What a bummer!” Matt and I laughed real hard and then shared that we had asked for the same thing. The four of us giggled for a few minutes before I asked, “So what did you order?” Jenny replied, “The one with chips, salsa, and quesadillas.” That just topped it all. Separately we had asked for the same thing and then ordered the same appetizer when finding out the first was not available! Matt and I laughed all the way home ☺ How fun it is to find friends who are similar to you when in a country where you feel so strange. We enjoyed the laughs and the fun with friends.