Spain

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So This Is What Culture Shock Feels Like

I’ve been in Spain a month now and, as some of you have surmised, adapting to life here has not been as easy as in other countries. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am very happy with my housesitting gig (especially the ball of fur currently curled up against me) and have zero regrets with coming here. I’m getting used to getting up later so that if I want to go out one evening, I’m fine with waiting till 8PM to be able to get food with my beer. I don’t mind the limited hours at the local shop. I’m grateful to be walking distance to a full service grocery store open all day. And, of course, I can communicate with people.

But I cannot get over the very rigid Spanish schedule that controls life here.

I went to La Cañada today to have lunch. Surprise, the restaurant decided to close today! That happened all the time in Mexico, but it wasn’t a huge deal as I’d have access to other options. But here, unless I wanted some variation of tomato toast, I was out of luck for lunch at 1:45 because heaven forbid someone wants a real meal at that time! So that’s three times out of three now that I’ve failed to get lunch at what is supposed to be the time that Spaniards eat their largest meal. I guess people in Almería don’t go out for lunch. I’m just grateful that I have easier access to grocery stores here, so a better variety of food than in Bulgaria, and am able to cook for myself a wide variety of meals.

So that was quite a hike for nothing (the restaurant is fully 4KM away), but I figured I’d make the best of it and pop into the produce store. Oh, great, they decided to close 15 minutes early. Same thing with the dried fruit store and the hardware store. AUGH.

And this was after I twisted my schedule today to make sure I’d be in La Cañada at a time when I could run a few errands…

I cannot live like that. Maybe it would be easier if I didn’t have a large time commitment to get places, but I am really resenting how much I have to live by the clock here. I have a rhythm to my day and I’ve finally found the place where that rhythm just doesn’t fit.

Moreover, Spain is so regimented that you can pretty much only buy things at specialist shops. They are starting to get away from that with the supermarkets and chinos, but they still don’t really have convenience stores, and opening hours are very strictly regulated.

I suppose that if I had to live here long-term, I’d get used to it. In fact, I’m not discounting living here long-term at some point because this would be the easiest place to get permanent residence in an EU country, which would give me freedom to travel all over Europe. But having been here a month, I can say that Spain is by far my least favourite place I’ve lived and has been the biggest adjustment in terms of making concessions my schedule.

But Spaniards, overall, are lovely people, truly. I popped into Mercadona to pick up some coffee and the clerk I’d asked for prunes last time I was there recognised me and told me they had brought some in! Like raisins, prunes are my junk food/major treat, so this almost made up for the restaurant being closed. Almost. 🙂

In unrelated news, it looks like I might have set up a sit in England starting in early January! I think we’re a go, but I’m waiting for the final confirmation to provide details.

Because of the major stuff potentially coming down the pipeline that I’m not ready to talk about yet, I don’t think I’ll be going to Morocco. 🙁 I really wanted to go for a week or two and have been doing extensive research, but accommodation there is surprisingly expensive and I’m looking at higher transportation costs than expected to get there (about 400CAD to get there and then on to my destination in the UK).

I’m still hoping for a last-minute sit to pop up or for my Fairy Godmother to make a some money appear in my Yule stocking, but I’ve had a lot of fun in 2016, probably more than in the last eight years combined, and concede that I really can’t do everything. My savings are pretty much gone and I don’t want to touch my cushion in case what I think may come to pass does come to pass. So, please, no more hint, hints about Morocco unless you want to buy me a plane ticket from Almería to Marrakesh on December 17th! 😉

But also, please do not worry. I’m being a lot more frugal now than I was even a month ago, but that’s not because I’m in any sort of financial distress. Things are just fine at that end and I am making choices rather than being imposed upon. It was always the plan to put the brakes on the expenditures once I got to Western Europe since my money doesn’t go that far here. It just made more sense to spend with abandon and do a lot of tourism in the Balkans and then hunker down for a bit and replenish the coffers. So right now, I’m in work mode, looking for sits to keep expenditures low, and slowly plotting my return to North America as pieces of the possibly big news start to slot into place.

Well, I’d better finish this painful job I’m working on and then head out for a caña. The tapas bar around the corner is such a gift!!!

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Moiling Away

I’ve been working for the past several months, on and off, on a new documentary project for the producer of the documentary film I did last year and got a huge batch of audio this week. I like when a get large volume order like that because it means I can hunker down and work for a few days and then take it easy for the next couple. I’ve got a couple more days to do on it, but they should be shorter than the last few and I’m hoping to call off early and go to La Cañada for lunch tomorrow and then into Almería for more sightseeing on Thursday and/or Friday, depending on what else comes in.

The weather has been disappointing, with unseasonably cool temps. It’s been okay between about 1:00 and 5:00, when the sun is bearing down in full force, but earlier in the day and by the time I quit around 8:00, I really don’t have any clothes with me to make a walk around the block comfortable. If this keeps up, I’ll have to look into a warm coat much sooner than expected. 🙁 But, again, the afternoons are super comfortable and the cloud cover parted today to give me perfect walking conditions.

So I headed out around 4:00 and was a block (halfway, pretty much) to the beach when an older lady stopped me and started asking me questions. She had a really thick accent and I had to tell her, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” Undaunted and patient, she continued much more slowly, using different words when needed ,and proceeded to ask me a bunch of questions and pretty much got my life story in five minutes, LOL! It was a really lovely chat and I realised that I rather needed that bit of social interaction since I don’t yet fluently understand the cat here. 😉

This palm tree on the beach seemed like a cheeky fellow, with his fronds up in the air like that.

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I liked this house with the unusual round corner and roof.

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I must have walked a couple of kilometres trying to get back to my street since this neighbourhood is a maze. I was never lost, just kept coming up to dead ends!

I came in and worked for a couple of hours, then called off and started to make dinner when a client emailed to asked if I could take a couple of short jobs due in a few hours. *sighs* I just have to remember that I’m funding the next leg of this great big adventure! 🙂 I’m not ready yet to blog about a lot of things going on behind the scenes, but there could be multiple huge expenditures over the next several months that I had not anticipated when I left in June. Nothing bad, all very exciting, just a lot to sort through and process.

Well, dinner smells ready, so I’d better eat and then get back to work. That feels like that’s all I’ve been doing for the last two days!

By the way, the cat here? I’m totally in love. But I bet that’s not a surprise. 😉

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I Can’t Believe What I Found Today!

I was running out of fresh veg today and the little shop here didn’t have what I wanted. I did a general search for supermarkets, with the intent to look for one near my bus route. I didn’t need a hypermarket today, but I wanted something a bit bigger than the shop here. Suddenly, I remembered that Alicante had a supermarket that would be perfect for my needs, Mercadona. So I decided to pop that into Google and see if there was one more convenient to me than the Lidl downtown (which I haven’t been to, but was my likely destination).

When a result for Mercadona popped up, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was 2KM away. Two measly kilometres! There had to be a catch! A catch like, say, the road there not being pedestrian friendly…

I set off around 1:00 with my grocery trolley. The directions were simple and actually took a shorter route  on foot than by car. My destination was La Cañada (not Canadá — accents are important!).

I skirted around the base of the airport and soon had to turn off onto this road, where I immediately felt as though I was in Mexico.

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Before I knew it, I was in La Cañada after traveling a pedestrian-hauling-a-trolley-friendly road! It’s a full service community, with shops and restaurants and all services! I cannot believe my host, who seemingly thought of every detail, didn’t think to tell me to check this place out!

Special of the day at the first restaurant I passed: rice and octopus. I went out for tapas last night and had calamari, so I wasn’t tempted.

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The Mercadona was exactly where Google Maps told me it would be. It had taken absolutely no time to get there. It was almost like a mirage!

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But I didn’t go in yet, wanting to see what other treasures I might find.

Like this one-stop shopping for all manner of certificates and licenses: medical, driving, firearm, private security, nautical, and… dangerous animals.

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I passed a lovely church.

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And an interesting fountain.

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Near the end of the main street, I popped into a Chinese restaurant to ask for a menu. The server gave me one to take with me in case I want delivery (free with orders of 10 euro). I’m not at the point yet with my Spanish where I’m ready to do that… But she also pointed out that there is an eat-in special on weekdays for less than 8 euros for three dishes, with dessert and a drink with lots of choices and the menu is available between noon and 4:30! My clients are currently trying to kill me, but as soon as things calm down again, I look forward to going for lunch of a cuisine I haven’t had in months at a time of my convenience!

Coming back towards the supermarket, I popped into a “Chino,” a type of store my host gave me a heads up about. They are the equivalent of a dollar store/pound shop/Waldo’s, where you can find almost anything for a very low price. I’ve been needing a small sewing kit since I got here to mend a few things and forgot to pick one up when I went downtown. The store was immense and like Ali Baba’s cave. I found exactly what I needed for just 90 cents.

Then, I went into the grocery store to get what I needed. It was large and had a lot, but very little exotic-type products like you’d find in a hypermarket, so I’m not regretting my trip to Carrefour at all. I don’t even think they had almond milk. The produce section was a bit dismal, to my surprise, however. Everything looked fresh, but there was little selection. There is a dedicated produce shop almost right across the road, so hopefully it’ll be open if I go back during the week. But I got what I needed today, some zucchini and sweet potatoes.

They were out of carrots (who runs out of carrots?!), but the produce manager pointed to some packages of prepared veggies that had carrot, leek, onion, celery, and what I think are turnips for just 1.25 euro, which suited me better than getting a huge bunch of carrots. I’ll be able to slice all of that up and put it around a chicken to roast at the same time.

I was also able to stock up on raisins. They were a bit pricy, but needs must. There was a shop marked “dried fruits” a little ways up the road that I’m hoping I’ll find open next time I go as I’m going into prune withdrawal, haven’t had any lucky finding some, and this place will be my best bet.

I’ve only got a little more than a month left here, but even with just that short span of time, discovering La Cañada is a game changer, if only to have a place to pop in for lunch during the work day without having to take the whole afternoon off!

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It’s the End of the World and I Don’t Feel Fine

What a world we live in… I don’t think anything is going “back to normal” now. But life goes on, the sun rises and sets, yaddi yadda.

And client orders keep pouring in. Might as well make hay while NAFTA, what gives me permission to work as a 1099 contractor for U.S. companies and which the new administration wants to scrap, is still in place. It was a real shock to realise yesterday that I have, in fact, placed all my eggs in one basket and that despite a robust and diverse client list, my business could very well not survive the next U.S. presidency if I don’t find some solid and regular non-U.S. clients…

While I had to work a full day yesterday, it was hard not to be distracted, never mind that I had slept poorly. I eventually went out for a long walk to clear my head and to get some groceries, perishables and produce, to top up my big shop.

I listened to conversations as I walked past people chatting and there was no talk of what was going on across the pond. This brought on waves of equal parts relief and loneliness. I  really wished that I was home, sitting in C&C’s kitchen drinking a bottle of their wine and having their dry wit and words of wisdom wash over me.

The shop, small as it is, is full service and much better than the one I had access to in Bulgaria. But there are a lot more items that I have to ask for at a deli counter rather than select myself. Thankfully, the guy who selects the produce does a good job of it and I’ve been happy so far with everything I’ve brought home. I splurged on four huge Ambrosia apples I knew would not be cheap (3 euros) because it was that or chocolate and it’s important to take care of yourself in times of stress. Like in Mexico, I describe what I want if I don’t know the word for it, and the clerk seems to be slowly moving from shock that he understands me to amusement. The “orange thing that seems covered in wax” is a caqui (persimmon). I’d never had one and was curious. 🙂

The owner/cashier, whom I’d been introduced, didn’t remember that I speak Spanish. You should have seen the look on her face when I asked her where I could find garbage bags! Vicki, you’ll be pleased to know that the cheapest ones were purple! 😉

One thing that has surprised me in Spain is the lack of fresh milk and cream. Spaniards favour UHT dairy in a box. I wanted some cream to make a pasta sauce and could only find, like in Mexico, a milk product with the milk fat removed and vegetable fat added. They call it nata, “cream,” but it’s not cream as I’d get it back home. I was rather surprised. The taste was okay, though. The yoghurt selection here is pretty dismal (but prices are good) and I’ve been disappointed with cheeses available at small shops. However, I’ve had no trouble finding good butter, although, like in Bulgaria, you really have to read the labels because there are a lot of “butters” that are really just a margarine with a bit of milk solids in them.

Grocery prices in Spain are good, even with the exchange rate. I spent 15CAD yesterday and almost 5CAD of that was the apples (which is less than I would have paid for them there).

I got in and continued to flitter between work and the news until I felt I could quit. I made a good dinner and got to bed early.

And sure enough, the sun rose again today.

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A Final Meal Before the Apocalypse?

Tonight, I decided to try the El Lagarto (the lizard) “Mexican” restaurant up the street from where I’m staying.

As I headed there, I pondered why it is that Mexican cuisine seems to be the one that is completely misinterpreted outside its borders. If you’re lucky, you might get some decent Tex-Mex or Southwest inspired chow. So my expectations for tonight weren’t very high and I wasn’t even sure I’d order a full meal.

First, I had a look at their selection of Mexican beers… Coronita (Corona) or Negra Modelo. Spain is in the grips of a cold spell now, so it’s definitely not “cerveza clara” time even if I liked Corona (which I don’t, *shudders*). The Negra Modelo was a whopping 3 euros, but I haven’t had one in so long and it was perfect for the weather. So I splurged!

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(This might have been premature, but it was great to toast Trump’s defeat with Mexican beer.)

Negra Modelo is not a heavy dark beer, more like liquid caramel. It is very smooth and a great introduction to dark beers.

The menu items actually sounded, for the most part, like Mexican food, so I decided to keep splurging and have dinner. I picked the “enchiladas de carne,” where in this case carne was cerdo (pork), which came with salad and rice. So far, it sounded like something I would get in Mexico, albeit for three times the price.

This thing of beauty was served to me:

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The salad was way “fancier” than what you’d get at a typical Mexican joint, but that’s not a complaint! It was really tasty! I especially like the marinated red cabbage, which brought me back to my first meal in Kosovo. The whole salad was quite vinegary, which is a plus for me.

Underneath the red sauce is a ball of chicken broth rice, just like I’d get in Mexico. Your blogger was very pleased!

Now, the enchiladas. To be enchiladas as I’m used to having them in Mexico (non-Swiss, green sauce, or mole), they would have needed to be served dry with a bowl of tomato-based broth on the side, crumbled white cheese over top, a dollop of crema, and some spicy red sauce. Oh, and let’s not forget the limes to squeeze over everything. But notice that they have corn tortillas! I haven’t had corn tortillas since I left Mexico in April. Mmmmm! The sauce was really good, although I wish it had been a bit spicier (I asked for hot sauce and they didn’t have any!), and the cheese actually made me think of Mexican Chihuahua cheese. As for the meat, no complaints, perfectly browned, not greasy in the least, and well seasoned.

So I ended up being super happy with my meal! It was 15.80 Euros (24.17CAD). So I definitely cannot make going there a regular thing, although they do have less expensive options, and if I skip the beer, I can stay under 10 Euros. But I’m glad to know that it is an option past 8PM every night except Wednesday if I feel I’ve earned a splurge, especially since getting to a restaurant in Almería downtown isn’t really an option. If I have to have only one full service restaurant within walking distance, I’m blessed!