Allie in the South of Spain

I have to tell you that people lose their damn minds when they see a double stroller. I had heard and been warned from other twin moms that people would be curious, would make comments, would ask questions and would sometimes be inappropriate. I can now say that all of the above is true. Most of the time it doesn't bother me if people ask about or comment on my girls. I understand that twins aren't all that common (though right now it really seems like they are. It's one of those situations like when you have a new car and you look around and it seems everyone has that same car. For me that is what having twins is like: I see them everywhere!). What does bother me is when people go in to touch them. Please don't. This is especially annoying when we are at the hospital or at the doctor's office. I don't know why you are there or what disease you might be carrying. Don't touch my babies. Thank you. I realize this might make me seem overly protective but...

It's been a while. I'll admit that things around here haven't been too exciting and I took a break from blogging but as you can see I am back from my semi-retirement because I. just. can't. I. CAN'T. Maybe you have heard (or maybe it's news to you) that we had our first case of diphtheria here in Spain since 1987 recently because a family decided not to vaccinate their child.  Turns out a six year old contracted the disease and the Spanish government had to go to Russia to find a treatment since nowhere in Europe had it because it's a disease that has basically been eradicated.   I thought that in this sense I was living somewhere more reasonable than the U.S. and that the anti-vaxxer movement nonsense hadn't really made it to this side of the pond. Apparently I was wrong. There are idiots here in Spain too. From the very beginning of this tragedy the press and government have been portraying the parents as victims. Let's get something straight ...

The mesa camilla is a very Spanish invention (in fact I believe it to be a very southernly Spanish invention). It consists of a table, a heater and a heavy, long tablecloth-like fabric that drapes over the sides. The idea is that you put the heater under the table and when you sit down you put the fabric over you like a blanket. The truth is that it does keep you quite warm. The downside is that once you get up and move, you lose the heat. Since the houses and apartments here in the south of Spain are not created for the cold (no central heating) a mesa camilla can be found almost every where.  We didn't have one last year and survived with blankets, space heaters and flannel pajamas throughout the winter. This year Jose decided we needed to get a mesa camilla. I fought the good fight (since often times they look very similar to the option in the picture above) but we ended up ordering one not too long ago.  Typically the mesa camilla is made of wood and can be stored ...

Gardens in the Alcazar Palace, Seville If you know me well, you probably know that I have a slight obsession with "Game of Thrones" (both the book and television series). I mean, if you want to take theories for how this will all wrap up, just let me know. I've got a lot. Recently we had been hearing on the news that the HBO hit was scouting locations here in the south of Spain to shoot some of the next season. I always suspected they were looking to find the perfect place to set the kingdom of Dorne, Prince Oberyn's (did you see that head just EXPLODE???) home. The descriptions of this part of the seven Kingdoms always sounded Mediterranean to me and the actor (Chilean I believe) who portrayed the late Oberyn certainly had a Spanish-speaker's accent. Well, it has been confirmed via the U.S. ambassador to Spain that yes, Dorne will be done in the south of Spain and that more specifically some scenes will be shot right here in Seville!! (Read the article her...

Did you know that the World Cup soccer tournament starts soon? If you live in a country which revolves around this sport (anywhere outside the US) then chances are you do. Around these parts almost all advertisements are focusing on this big event. (Mostly for televisions and team apparel so that you can follow the action in high def and sporting new duds). Jose has already let me know that he plans on watching all (or as much as he can) of the 64 games soon to be broadcasted. This is going to be my personal hell. But as a good wife I understand that the World Cup only comes around once every 4 years (thank God) and I can appreciate that Jose has been trying to get me excited for it. He first bought me a team USA t-shirt to wear while we cheer on America. Apparently they are in a pretty difficult bracket with Germany, Portugal and Ghana so he has also been preparing me for disappointment. Next game the World Cup sticker album (I wrote about Jose's obsession with these cromos bef...

Bullfighting, though controversial, is a popular sport here in the south of Spain, especially during the spring and feria seasons. Neither Jose nor I had ever been to see a bullfight but were lucky when one of his students gave us two front row tickets for last week. We were both excited to go but I was a bit apprehensive whether or not I would enjoy the show seeing as how they kill 6 bulls throughout.  Going to a bullfight during feria is definitely an event. You have to dress nicely because it is a place to see and be seen. We were seated in the shade (sombra) which was a blessing because the sun was hot that day and our spots were about the best you could have with a great view of the action. This was a nice teaching perk! Headed to the fight I am by no means an expert in bullfighting but the way it works is as follows: Stage 1- the bull is released into the ring and after a few passes with the bullfighter and his team it is weakened by a guy (picador) riding a horse...

With spring comes lots of different celebrations in the south of Spain. First after Holy Week the yearly fairs (ferias) begin in different villages with the biggest and most anticipated being in Seville next week. Jose's hometown actually has the first feria which kicks off the season. A feria traditionally was the time when people would bring their livestock in to buy and sell. So many people together meant parties which have continued until today. Feria means big tents called casetas where you can eat, drink and dance. There are also carnival games and rides set up as well as stands selling all kinds of unhealthy but yummy food, like churros. We went to Jose's hometown's fair for a night only since we had a communion that same weekend. Spring also brings with it first communions being celebrated by children in grade school. We went to Jose's cousin's communion and it was a much bigger affair than what I remember when I was young. There was a catered lunch...

While sometimes it seems like all we hear in Spain is bad news every day: economic crisis, unemployment, corruption, daily protests, there are in fact good things happening as well. It often seems easier to focus on the doom and gloom (which is probably an easier sell for the media outlets) but it is nice every once in a while to hear something positive. Here are a few things which are going right here in Spain: -In 2013 Spain reached an all time record for organ transplants and leads the world with 4,279 operations last year. According to the National Transplant Organization, Spanish citizens who are in need of an organ are the most likely to get one in the whole world. The number of bone marrow donors has also doubled in the past year. This data speaks well not only of the health system here but also of Spanish people in general, that they choose to become organ donors and give the gift of life to other people. It's pretty amazing! ( article in Spanish) . -Spanish people a...

Since I will be spending another holiday season here in Spain, I have decided to do a series of posts about holiday traditions that are important when celebrating. Some of them are similar to those back home, others are quite different. I hope you enjoy learning a bit about what we do here to celebrate the season! Sweet Festive Foods Like I think most places in the world, Spain has lots of sweet treats that only come around at Christmas time. In the U.S. we have holiday cookies and gingerbread houses. Here in the south of Spain we have equally delicious goodies to enjoy during the holidays. One big difference that I have noticed is that people don't bake as much as they do back home. It is much more common to buy your festive foods at the grocery store but that doesn't mean they aren't good! Without further ado, the food: Turron The way I would describe this is that it is similar to fudge. Turron usually comes in brick-like rectangles that you have to cut. It...

In general I love Spanish culture and people but occasionally there are things that happen or are said that I end up thinking, "whaaaaaaaaaaaaa????" Most of the time this has to do with the fact that Spanish folks don't have a filter, especially when it comes to commenting on people's weight. It is perfectly socially acceptable for someone to tell you that since they saw you last your weight has fluctuated (either up or down).  I now know to expect this from Jose's family, for example. A visit is not made to see his grandparents without them telling us we are either fatter or skinnier. Without fail. They don't say it to be mean, but often times I walk away feeling bad. This too from the same people who 10 minutes later are pushing food on you like it's your last meal. You don't make sense! This lack of filter reached new heights the other day when the security guard where I work made a comment to me as I was leaving after class. He said that I h...

WTF, Spain? In the last few weeks there has been quite an uproar here in Spain as known, condemned ETA terrorists have won a legal battle and are being released from prison. Let's not mince words here, these people are responsible for murder and mayhem that plagued the country in the 1980's. They committed crimes, were caught, went to trial, were found guilty and have been in prison since.  Seems like a normal reaction to being found responsible for 24 deaths in one case, that of Ines del Rio who was released today after being condemned for her participation in various crimes including a car bomb meant to destroy a passing bus full of members of the Spanish Civil Guard. In reality that explosion killed Eugene Kenneth Brown, an American who was not the main target. This woman was in jail for a total of 26 years, that is 13 months for each person she murdered. In Spain the maximum amount of time you can spend in jail is 30 years, regardless of your crimes. So even if you a...

Maaaaaaaria, I just met a girl named Maria Hopefully you just read that and sang the song from West Side Story in your head. Let's just say that from what I have experienced here in Spain, people really, really like this name. In fact, there are times when it seems like EVERY woman or girl is named Maria (or Maria de/l something) and though they might go by the second part of their name, their given one is still Maria. People definitely opt for traditional names here, unlike the US where names go through trends.  Recently a friend on Facebook posted a link which contained a GIF  (originally from The Atlantic)  showing the different female names that had been popular in the US since 1960. It is interesting to see how a name like Jennifer would be popular in one region and then would sweep the nation. Such a map would not be as cool here in Spain since not a whole lot would change. Maria. Maria del Carmen. Miriam. Marian. Mirian. Variations on a theme. Religious...

Cheap transportation needed Since I started my new job last week, Jose and I have been trying to figure out how we would be able to manage our different commutes with only one car. Before we were able to drive to work together since our schools were just down the road from one another and we had more or less the same schedules. Now things are different. Because Jose does not have very far to travel and doesn't go on any main roads, we decided to investigate buying a scooter. It didn't take us long to find one second-hand. We didn't waste any time in buying it since it was a good deal (at least we hope). Coops wants a ride That means that we got to spend the afternoon today driving around our apartment complex to practice. Even Cooper got into the spirit. The nice thing about this scooter is that it is pretty basic and easy to use. Really there are hand brakes and an accelerator. We both need to work on curves and turning but I think things went pretty well. We wil...

The back story I started learning Spanish in high school as a requirement to get into college. I never in a million years imagined how much it would end up molding my life and leading me to where I am today. That being said, during college as I continued my studies I spent time in Mexico working with children and later in Chile during a semester abroad. That means that the Spanish I spoke when I graduated was a mixture of several different influences and that the accent I had was not anything near what it sounds like today. Fast forward a couple of years to when I met Jose in grad school. After spending so much time with all the Andalucians that were there for the year (and who later stayed for the program) and then coming to live in Seville for a year myself, my accent, slang and intonations have all changed.  This was confirmed for me this week again as I met several people while doing job interviews (in Spanish) and they couldn´t get over how strong my accent was. At time...

202o Olympic host city top 3 Earlier this month Madrid, along with Tokyo and Istanbul, presented its bid to be the host city for the 2020 Olympic games. This happened to be the third time in recent history that Madrid lobbied for its candidacy, having done so as well for the 2012 and 2016 games. From what I heard and read it seemed as if there was a lot of public support here in Spain for this candidacy. The arguments for Madrid being that it already has a lot of infrastructure in place and that it would help to create a lot of jobs in the region. I, as you can imagine, was excited with the possibility of having the Olympics only a train ride away. There was a lot of anticipation over the weekend as each of the top three cities presented their arguments, answered questions and lobbied in Argentina.  Things were looking pretty good going into the final voting process (as a lot of people were arguing that with the instability in Turkey lately they wouldn´t be a good bet). It ...

Turkey legs and wizard blankets This weekend Jose and I decided we wanted to experience our first Renaissance Festival since I have been hearing about it for years from lots of people who mostly raved about the giant turkey legs and ridiculous costumes. We arrived early and I was shocked by how many cars were already in the parking lots but then I got excited when we ended up parked next to a group of folks dressed up as knights and what I can best describe as fairies. I knew it was going to get better from there. Jose at the entrance The venue itself was much larger than I expected with shops and restaurants that seemed to be permanent installations. We walked around the perimeter checking out what people were selling (lots of costumes, weaponry and other nerdy odds and ends like unicorn horns and dragon art). They also had quite a few stages set up around which featured different acts like juggling, magic, comedy and singing. Who wouldn´t want this super awesome wizard b...