The 'Education' of Little Landon (and Cassie too)

Much of our time here, when not traveling with the students, is spent homeschooling Landon and Cassie (though admittedly my eleventh grade Trig class has long since become useful in anyway for Cassie's pre-calc assignments). Cassie is actually mostly teaching herself, with some occasional help from a student, and she and I study Spanish together.

Landon, on the other hand, takes most of my attention, and in addition to the enhanced respect I have gained for his teachers, I have also become more educated myself on some of the challenges of his learning disabilities. It's been a good experience all the way around.

Landon's daily homework position

Cassie's style is a little more laid back.

It's not actually his academic education that has impressed me most however, but rather the 'education'' he is receiving from being with 14 young adult girls everyday. Now admittedly, with three older sisters he had a good foundation already, much of which has given him the confidence (too much confidence, I might add) to further his 'studies.'  When he stepped off the bus on our first trip of the semester and said to the gathering of girls, gangsta hand motions included, "what up LADEEEZ?!" I knew we were in trouble. A week ago I came downstairs to find him demonstrating on Kaitlin to the two boys in our group how to properly play with a girl's hair. And all of the girls now been given Landon nicknames that include Beautiful, Cookie, Sweetie and Sugar, just to name a few. Heaven help us when he gets older.

Andy's catching on to Landon's hair playing instruction  on Emily

Despite the intent of all involved, his efforts to woo the ladies has not been without some gaffs. One of his many favorites (nickname Girlfriend) got on the bus before Landon one day and announced that he had just told her that her coat made her look pregnant. When I responded, aghast, that I clearly needed to talk to him, she replied, "Oh, don't worry, Julianna has already pulled him aside to explain AGAIN that you never comment on a girl's size or weight!" Thankfully they aren't afraid to give correction and genuinely like and include him, which has made our experience so much more fun. They all patiently attended a meeting he called in one of our hotel rooms to plan a party for that night. Notebook in hand, he made room assignments for various activities, figured out treats and promoted a dance party to end the night where he showed off his moves.

Taylor in her darling, non-pregnant looking, coat!

Landon with Juliana ('Beautiful'), Melissa ('Awesome') and Sarah ('Sweetie')

I'm well aware that he will need some counter training when he returns to his 12 year old world where everyone isn't patient and kind and thinks your funny no matter what goofy thing you do. Even here, of course, we have moments where we need to remind him that he is not actually one of the students and that they won't always want to do what he wants to do. I think its safe to say that an early game Faith (i.e. Cookie Dough) taught him, Four Men on a Couch, has outworn it's fun for everyone, despite his repeated requests to play it again.

I can't talk about Landon's 'college education' without talking about Cassie's as well, and in that regard it has been nothing but positive. She is included and welcomed and genuinely liked by the students, one of which told her early on that she liked her because she doesn't act 15. That may be as good of a compliment as you can get from someone in college. But what is most telling, is that despite her fears of leaving all of her friends behind, she has not once complained about being here and never seems to really feel homesick. This group is obviously doing a great job filling in as her new friends. It is because of that, I think, that last night we heard words we never thought we would hear come out of her mouth, "the time is going TOO fast!"

Nate, Tatiana, Taylor, Faith, Madeleine and Liz leaving Cordoba

I'll Take My Chicken Without A Head, Thanks

I seems like I cook more with hamburger meat here than I do at home, where every meal seems to center on chicken. It may be that I can just find more ingredients that I need for hamburger based meals than for chicken meals, but more likely it's the memory I have from our previous experience here:

Stan had gone off to the university to take care of some last minute items before the students arrived and I decided to bake a chicken for our first big midday meal (like the Spanish eat, only not with Spanish food.)  I was feeling pretty proud of myself for cleaning out the chicken--there was more there than I was accustomed to, if you know what I mean--and was preparing the final part of the cleaning when I lifted the chicken only to find that the HEAD WAS STILL ATTACHED TO THE CHICKEN!   Well, my abilities (or courage) only take me so far, so back into the fridge it went until Stan could return to clever it off.  It turns out he wasn't surprised and had already experienced the same thing during preparation of an earlier meal but had spared me the gory details.

We also had another interesting discovery during a subsequent meal.  I was in the middle of preparing some chicken noodle soup when I turned to my small bottle of pepper to add some flavor.  Interestingly, the pepper kept sinking to the bottom of the pan.  Now, we were gifted with many spices from former directors and the "pepper" I had been using was found in a small jar in a cupboard with the rest of the spices.  Kara had complained a couple of times about the gritty taste in some of our meals, but I had responded with something to the effect of, "maybe Spanish salt is just a little courser, it's nothing."  Since I had added "pepper" to virtually every meal we had eaten since arriving, and had tasted nothing very unusual, I really hadn't thought much about it.  But when I noticed its sinking nature in the soup, it caused me to wonder.  Still, I happily, even proudly, fed it to the family, despite their complaints about the texture.  Sure enough, as you may have already guessed by now, it was actually SAND, no doubt a souvenir left behind by a former director's family after a visit to the beach!  How it wound up in the cupboard, I have no idea, but it was a good lesson on the power of association. :)

We have laughed about that a lot over the years, and I'm grateful to say that (1) chicken breasts are readily available and I haven't seen one headed chicken (though I did tell Stan to double check when he picked up a whole chicken for me this week) and (2) I cleared out any odd spices from the cupboard when I arrived.
That doesn't mean there aren't plenty of odd foods in the store. Cassie and I were in line yesterday when we noticed this in the cart in front of us.



There is still plenty of meat hanging above our heads in the store, but they are actually less conspicuously placed than before (or I really am a true Spaniard and just don't see them as unusual anymore!)  We saw goat's heads, eyes and teeth included, in the market, and octopus is pretty common a lot of places.

Still, there is plenty to like.  Spanish are expert yogurt makers, the best I have ever tasted.  Delicious!

This entire aisle (about a quarter of the dairy section in the store) is yogurt.

And they are the absolute BEST at making olive oil. Spain is the biggest producer of producer of olive oil in the world by a long way and the students report that everything they eat is fried in olive oil.

Those bottles on the bottom are easily 2 gallon size and check out the prices.
(The varieties of olive oil are endless and some are more expensive, of course)

We mainly use it for making a dipping sauce for the delicious fresh pan from the panaderia.

Good thing I brought my own spices! :)

Spain Has Changed

Spain has changed and I not sure how I feel about it. In seven years globalization has made an impact and its hard to imagine what another seven or fifteen or twenty will bring. Yes, last time we were here we could find McDonald's and Pizza Hut and a few other random American things, but I am actually surprised by some of the other changes.

Big box stores are a lot more common and even one short train ride away we have access to a store that resembles Home Depot in size and scope. No more going all over town trying to find the little tienda that sells the little part we need to fix the shower. Ready prepared foods are easier...though still not easy...to find in the grocery store. I can't get refried beans, for instance, in any of the three stores I frequent but I can get frozen pizza. I got a Chinese delivery menu in the mail yesterday...that's new...and found a restaurant in the MALL that is a ten minute walk from our home (so shocked it was here that I didn't even know until the students informed me) that serves brownies with ice cream and chocolate fudge sauce (our Spanish teacher was shocked at such a concoction when we served it at a closing social in 2006!)  My struggling Spanish has invited store keepers to proudly speak to me in broken English (I don't think I EVER experienced that seven years ago) It's apparently not even unusual to ask for tap water in restaurants and we haven't had any of the weird looks we encountered last time from that request.

Pictures were taken by my students for an assignment on globalization. :)



These might seem little but to me they seem huge! It feels a little like a wave that's just starting to form. Fortunately, most things remain the same... Cobblestone, narrow streets with big beautiful plazas, grandparents with their grandchildren in the park, street artists and long siestas where most of the city shuts down, polite people that are perfectly fine sitting close to you on the bus, evening family strolls, museums, cathedrals and beautiful buildings everywhere you look.

I hope some things ever change.

Don't Look at the Graffiti!

I was feeling a little down about the day to day grind today.  Yes, that happens, even here in Spain.  The daily routine includes homeschooling (that often takes much more of the day than it seems like it should,) laundry (in a very small washer and a dryer that has two settings:  'don't dry' or 'rapidly shrink',) walks to the grocery store (a half mile away for one simple forgotten item or just to keep food in the house), and the never ending job of food preparation (while only using one appliance at a time and some unfamiliar ingredients.)

Clearly, I was in need of an attitude adjustment.

Feeling a little sorry for myself (I'm sorry, under the circumstances that's rude I know,) I decided I needed to get out for a run.  I have wanted to do that since we got here, and frankly had hoped I would do it regularly last time we were here as well, but it just never seems to fit in.

It turned out to be just the thing I needed (doesn't it always?!)  Sun on my face and a slight wind made for the perfect conditions, and the siesta made it even better.  No one was around.  No cars to dodge, no people to squeeze through, no open stores, no nothing but me and the city to explore.  It was beautiful!  Knowing I might get lost but not really caring, I just headed off through a part of the city I had only partially been through before.  In what turned out to be only a couple of miles I ran through parks and plazas, past a palace and cathedral, down narrow medieval cobblestone streets, and past old stone buildings and a monastery.

As I headed back, I walked for a while, a little tired, but lifted from the experience, only to begin to notice the trash piled in a dumpster by the side of the road, the walls littered with graffiti and the dog poop in scattered areas on the sidewalk  Hadn't I just come this way?!  How had I ignored it before?

Ahh, those sweet moments in life. The ones that quietly teach you or slap you in the face when you need it most.   Here's mine today:  Don't focus on the daily grind of life or graffiti on the wall when you're surrounded by family and great moments together, parks and cathedrals. :)



I had so much fun, I ran back for Cassie and did it all again so I could take pictures.

Heading out the door of our Chalet

The quiet city streets of the Siesta

Even the trains were sleeping/

Through a city park

Into the medieval part of the city

Along side the palace

The Archbishop's Palace and birthplace of Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Ferdinand & Isabella and  1st wife of King Henry the 8th of England.  She couldn't bear him a son so he tried with 5 other wives.)

Calle Mayor, one of the most important cities of past and present Alcala

Typical homes in the historical part of the city

The famous storks of Alcala.  They sit atop many of the old buildings and churches.

Love the cobblestone streets and narrow roads

Typical homes in the more modern parts of town

A little reward at our favorite grocery store, Carrefour,  Spaniards don't eat and drink while they walk so I was a little nervous about this, haha.

Lesson learned.