It's Christmas Time, Charlie Brown

Madrid is flooded with Christmas decorations, every shop is covered in cotton snow and tinsel and street are decorated with christmas lights, figurines, and huge metallic Christmas trees. I really should have written this post a month ago, as Madrid pulls out the Christmas decorations the moment Halloween celebrations commence, but my loyalty to Thanksgiving (and my distractedness) allowed me to hold back.

Even though I claim my Thanksgiving loyalty, I will admit that the one good thing about the country skipping over this holiday is that the Christmas spirit comes that much sooner. With an entire city lit up and decorated, there is no way to escape the festivities and Christmas bliss. Vince Guaraldi's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is always my go to music year round to put a smile on my face. When I was growing up we used to listen to this at the dinner table regardless of the season. But, in the past month, I have start listening to it nonstop, as well as whatever other Christmas songs and playlists I can find.

Fuencarral lit up

Every main plaza in Madrid--Callao, Gran Via, Sol--has its own respective tree. El Corte Ingles, Spain's huge chain department store, at Sol has 2 floors which are labeled "Christmas Wonderland." Essentially, they are sponsored by Disney and decorated with life size Christmas themed Disney characters for children (and adults) to enjoy and take pictures with. If this isn't the most wonderful time of the year, I don't know what is.

Vodafone sponsored Christmas tree on Gran Via

Golden Metallic Tree in Puerta del Sol  

Callao Christmas Tree

When I got back from my church's potluck last saturday, I stumbled upon my host-sister, Amalia, and her friend decorating their table top Christmas trees. It was the perfect and seamless holiday transition! I got to help them decorate the trees too, making colored paper chain links and beaded ornaments. I absolutely love doing crafts and was elated to get to help. The next day we went ice skating together--there are a few small outdoor rinks set up around the center of the city--and continued the holiday celebrations.  

To top it all off, this past Wednesday I woke up to a lightly dusted Madrid. Snow is very rare here, despite the freezing temperatures we've reached, yet this week the weather surprised us all. Madrid's White Christmas is coming early to guarantee I won't miss out on it before I leave. Madrid, you never cease to amaze me.

Madrid's snowy sprinkle

An amazing city during the best time of the year. What a perfect way to spend my last few weeks.

The Ultimate Way to Bring People Together

I am a firm believer of the unifying power of food. Food brings people together in every aspect of the culinary art: cooking food, choosing dishes, and, of course, sharing a meal. Food is so much more than a nutritional necessity--it is an expression of culture and ideas.

Over the past 6 months I have had the pleasure of experiencing numerous cultures in this way--from the cheeses, chocolates and pastries of Switzerland and France to the jamón, sangria, and paella of Spain (dabbling all this time in so many of countries and traditions). You can learn so much about a country from their food. Not just from the food itself, but from the tradition that surrounds it. For instance, in Spain there is a huge emphasis on the importance of fresh food. Spain still promotes small, specialized markets over supermarkets and fruterías, pollerías, panaderías, etc. continue to line the streets. At home, all meals are cooked fresh and, usually, take hours to prepare. In fact, locals rarely eat out in restaurants here, because they value cooking fresh meals at home. Further, lunches and dinners are always eaten together as a family. Family is of utmost importance here, and this is reflected at the dinner table. I've grown to love Spain and really appreciate this relationship with food, freshness, care, and family.

However, as I have dabbled with different dishes around Europe and taken from other cultures, I have not had the opportunity to share my own. Over the past two weeks, in preparation for Thanksgiving, I decided to share some of the American culinary culture as well. I made a loaf of spiced pumpkin bread for my host family, which they were a bit skeptical of at first, to share with them a typical American autumn treat. Plus, I was (as I always am) craving pumpkin. Win-win. Although sweets and pastries are rarely eaten here--dessert usually consists of fruit, they absolutely loved it and were pleasantly surprised by the outcome of this unknown, new treat. It was gone in 2 days. I was so delighted of this success and affirmation of both my cooking and my culture.

This past weekend my church, which is an international church consisting of a congregation from nearly all around the world, hosted a Thanksgiving potluck to celebrate the American holiday. This was the first Thanksgiving celebration for the vast majority of the church, including all of the staff. Still, everyone brought a dish (I made chocolate chip pumpkin cookies!) and came together to share in this feast. And I mean feast. It was such a beautiful time of community and blending of cultures that was only made possible by the nature of this event: food. While it may not have been an extremely traditional American Thanksgiving (there was no pie, let alone the 6 my family usually has), the value in this event was so much more. The non-Americans tried to understand a foreign culture and everyone came together to praise and cherish the difference in our community.

So while I may have missed my annual family Thanksgiving cooking marathon, the value of food over these past few months has not been lost. I look forward to the sharing of meals and tradition with each of my family members and friends upon my return.

What does your food and culinary traditions say about your culture?

¡Esto es África!

nuestra guía

¡Esto es África!  

Fui el jueves por la madrugada a Tánger, Marruecos. Fue mi primera vez en el continente y la primer vez desde que entré a Europea ese junio que recibí una marca en mi pasaporte. He viajado bastante durante mi tiempo en Europea, pero nunca he obtenido ninguna marca en mi pasaporte cuando viajo a otro país porque solo había viajado entre la Zona Schengen.

El viaje a Tánger fue demasiado largo: 8.5 horas en un autobús, 3 horas esperando para los billetes para el barco, una hora en barco, y para colmo, 1.5 horas esperando después—14 horas viajando en total. Sin embargo, mereció la pena cuando, por fin, llegamos.  

la vista de Marruecos del barco

El primer día, damos una vuelta por la ciudad y montamos camellos en la playa. Fue tan divertido montarlos en la playa y disfrutar la experiencia de estar en África. Para cenar, comimos tres comidas tradicionales de Marruecos: una sopa (que olió de canela pero saboreó de verduras) con una brocheta de cordero, cuscús con pollo y verduras, y baklava. Además, Marruecos es famoso para su té de menta que ellos toman después de cada comida. Como todos saben,  me encanta té, así que tomé vasos y vasos de este té cada oportunidad que tenía.

¡montando camellos!

Taylor y yo en la playa al atardecer

el entretenimiento con la cena

cuscús

el té de menta 

Taylor, yo, Tina, Holly y Alyssa en Kasbah

El sábado fue un día lleno de actividades para ver y recorrer la ciudad y sus alrededores. Empezamos la mañana con una visita a Kasbah, la ciudad vieja de Tánger. Visitamos a todos los mercados por la calle y a tres fábricas: una de alfombras, una de bufandas y bolsos tejidos y una de cosméticas y especies. Fue increíble que hubiera vendedores quien nos siguió por las calles en todos lugares que fuimos. Es muy fácil fijarse a los turísticas, y todos los vendedores se aprovechan de la oportunidad de gastar dinero. Después de Kasbah, nos fuimos a Asilah, un pueblo en la costa con vistas del mar, la playa, y las rocas. El pueblo era lleno de artistas y productos hechos local. Todas las paredes con arquitectura tradicional con murales pintados por artistas locales. Todas las fachadas eran coloreados y distintos. Era impresionante.

la fábrica de alfombras

las vistas de Asilah

cuevas de Hércules

una muralla en Asilah

Durante todo el tiempo allí, siempre estuve pensando de mi Grammie y su fascinación con África. Siempre nos ha dicho de sus viajes allí y las maravillas del continente. Me alegro que pudiera visitar a un sitio tan precioso para ella. Y que tengo bastante fotos para mostrarle a ella cuando vuelvo a los EEUU.

Fue un sitio muy distinto de algo que había visto. Sé que todos los partes en África son muy distintos y ahora quería investigar más del continente. ¡Supongo que tengo que viajar más y ampliar mis horizontes!

¡Viva la Huelga!

My entire abroad experience began with a French airline strike that delayed my connecting flight  from Madrid to Geneva. However, it has quickly become clear that Spain has a similar, arguably worse, attraction to this sudden refusal to work. Over the past week and a half there have been a total of 4 new strikes in Madrid.

Ten days ago there was an education strike. Spain recently raised annual college tuition from €1,500 to €1,900 a year, causing a huge uproar among students and faculty. Many professors canceled classes and other university staff took the day off, meaning that even professors who decided not to cancel classes still had difficulty opening offices, printing material, etc.

A few days later, there was an incident with ETA prisoners of war, leading to a diplomatic strike. The next day I opened my laptop to an email detailing a strike on the city trains; I rely on these trains to get to school daily. Apparently, this will continue through the end of the year.

Finally, to top off the huelga chain, when I was walking back from class two days ago I noticed a bunch of trash on the streets. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but later that night my host-mom informed me of the indefinite strike on street cleaning. Oh Madrid.

After one day of the street cleaning strike

In all honesty, Spanish strikes never actually result in change, they are just expression of angst. So what will be next? Let’s just hope it’s not a strike on food…I don’t think I could handle that.

I give it 3 days until the next one pops up. ‘Tis the season. 

Great Things Happen When We Are Together

picnic at Casa de Campo

It wasn’t until sophomore year that I became friends, or in some cases even met, some of my closest friends at Yale. Cici Wang, my beloved suitemate, is one of them. We have shared some incredible memories together at Yale—6 hour baking sprees during snowstorm Nemo, dumpling and arepa nights, scrambling to finish comp sci p-sets, tea parties, late night girl talk—and I am confident that there are many more to come when we both get back to Yale in the Spring. But for right now, we are each abroad and have been separated from the Yale bubble since the spring; Cici is spending her semester in Paris following a summer in Beijing. However, our adventures are in no way limited to Yale.

Cici visited Madrid last weekend and we definitely made the most of our short time together. It is incredible, I have been in Madrid for nearly 3 months now, yet when Cici and I were together, we explored Madrid in a new way and went to things I still had yet to see. This city and our friendship never cease to amaze me.

Madrid’s monthly farmer’s market <<Día del mercado>>, which I have never been able to go to, was the Saturday that Cici, my perfect foodie companion, was in town. The market, located next to Casa de Campo park, is filled with local vendors—ranging from fresh produce, to baked goods, to cured fishes, to wines, to chocolates, to olive oil—all located in Madrid. There seemed to be infinite samples of cheeses, breads, wines, and oils. This month advertised a guest vendor there this month: honey from a local beekeeper. It was the perfect compliment to the already darling market and completed the display of Madrid’s freshest products. We followed our farmer’s market adventure with a stroll through the park and a small picnic by the lake to enjoy the sunny weather.

miel del mercado 

Cici and I then decided to explore Madrid’s cathedral, which is located right in front of the royal palace. Although I have been to nearly every cathedral in the towns surrounding Madrid and everywhere I have visited in Spain, I had not actually seen Madrid’s. The cathedral is a huge building, which, unlike all other Spanish cathedrals, is decorated with modern architecture and art inside. To top it off, an organ concert began as we were inside.

On our way to visit Reina Sofia so Cici could see Guernica, we stumbled upon a market in Plaza Mayor. We investigated what it was and found out it was a ham market that was there for the week. There were ~12 different Iberian ham vendors, each thinly slicing and serving ham off of cured legs. So, we got a plate of, supposedly, the best Iberian ham in Spain.

madrid cathedral 

Cici and I in front of Palacio Real

Jamón! 

As we started walking again, we passed a clothing shop with a sign outside that everything was €1. Ends up it was a thrift shop, Spain’s version of goodwill, having a 1-day only sale. Cici found some incredible deals and we both enjoyed some exciting, girly spontaneity. After we visited the Reina Sofia, we were both in need of some dinner. After some unsuccessful wandering, I eventually to Cici to a restaurant I knew was good, but as soon as we got there, we were told that there were no available tables if we didn’t have a reservation. However, the manager made an exception for us and set us up outside, which is only supposed to be for drinks, and sent a waiter out to serve us. Cici and I are together and all of the sudden, regardless of the fact that we are in relaxed Europe, we experienced some of the best customer service. Not to mention the best salmorejo.

The following morning, and Cici’s final day, we were on the way to Retiro Park when I decided that we should make a detour and visit El Rastro, Madrid’s acclaimed flea market that sprawls across the city center every Sunday morning. We spent over 3 hours there sifting though antiques, clothes, and jewelry. I made friends with a few little old men at the antique shops, one of which gave me an old Spanish stamp as a present when I asked the price. Definitely a successful Rastro visit.

We tried yet again to make it to Retiro, but were averted by Madrid’s Ayuntamiento (city hall), one of the city’s most beautiful and grand buildings from the outside. As Cici was taking a picture, on a whim I said that we should go inside. I have passed this building dozens of times, never stepping foot inside, but decided we should at that moment. Sure enough, there were free art exhibits inside. Yet another successful find.

Ayuntamiento

inside el Ayunatmiento

statua de Alfonso XII por la noche

We ended our time together the best way we both know how: a delicious meal. We went to a restaurant, Ginger, that I had heard about but had yet to visit. Cici ordered a grilled salmon and zucchini dish and I got ahi tuna with a chutney glaze. I think this was the first time I have eaten tuna since the States, so I was elated. And of course, what would a trip to Madrid be with chocolate and churros to follow the meal?

churros con chocolate 

the crystal palace at night (Retiro)

ahi tuna

salmon and zucchini...and cici!

Cici’s visit was such a wonderful time filled with spontaneity and adventure. Yet, everything ended up working out better than we could have ever planned.

I think it is safe to say: good things happen when we are together. 

Close Calls

My lovely suitemate, Cici Wang, came to visit me last weekend. She got into Madrid Thursday afternoon and we had planned spend Friday in Valencia. We bought tickets for a 1am bus Thursday night, Halloween night, so that we would arrive in Valencia first thing in the morning.

At 12:15am, 45 minutes before our bus, we decided to head over to the bus station. We had to take one metro 15 minutes and then switch lines and go one stop. No problem.  We reached the platform just as the doors to our train were about to close. But, the car was completely packed full of dressed-up people going out to celebrate Halloween, so we realized we wouldn’t make it one and let the train pass. There were about 50 people with us waiting at the platform, too, who also decided not to push their way onto the train, so we were not worried. However, when we looked up at the timer we saw there was 16 minutes until the next train…all of the sudden our 45-minute buffer didn’t seem so forgiving.

At 12:31am, after waiting for 16 minutes, we finally caught our first metro, only to realize we were completely packed into the car. Everyone around us was screaming, drunkenly chanting, banging on the walls of the metro, and holding doors open at each stop. The already slow metro was now forced to go even slower.

At 12:47am we reached our connecting stop and ran to catch the other line. We got to the platform at 12:49, but the sign did not say how much time until the next train. I asked an elderly woman that was also waiting—why was an elderly woman out at 1am you may ask, because this is Spain—and she told me that it was at least 12-15 minutes. Here we were: 11 minutes until our bus, 1 stop away, and yet no way of catching a metro in time. So we ran out of the station to catch a taxi, only to end up in a side street with no cars around at all. After making a quick turn, we found a street with 3 cars, 2 of which were taxis: 1 was occupied, the other was free. We jumped on the taxi and, 9 euros later, made it to the bus.

12:57am. On the bus. 3 minutes to spare.

Despite the stressful start, pumping endless adrenaline through our bloodstream, our trip to Valencia could not have been any better. We saw beautiful cathedrals and basilicas, drank horchata from a horchateria that has been around for 2 centuries, saw the famous bull-ring, and explored Valencia’s modern-architecture that adorns its science and oceanography museums. We ended the last half of our day enjoying Valencia’s shoreline and gorgeous beaches: powdered sand that goes on for miles and lines stunning blue water. And, of course, a Valencian visit would not be complete without a paella lunch: heavily spiced rabbit and chicken paella. It was an incredibly satisfying meal and almost, but not quite, as good as my daddy’s.

Cici and I in front of the cathedral and basilica bright and early, while the square was still empty

Cici at the entrance of the grand cathedral

pumpkin buñuelos

oldest horchateria in Valencia

Ayuntamiento

New bullfighter!

Berkele(y)ites all the way!

giant sand castle!!

Cici and the mediterranean

the market