RECOMMENCING 10 FEET IN THE PIRINEOS! aug-sept 2007

~Back to normalcy, although we never quite found normalcy before taking in our 4 temporary house guests. 8 paws and two human feet now reside in our home, making our home, home! It is phenomenally beautiful and cosy. Spaghetti brewing on the “induccion” ceramic stove top as I write, sipping some inexpensive but yummy Rioja vino tinto, listening to the soundtrack of “Chocolat”…one of my favourite movies, utilizing the portable speakers I brought! And I’m happily unemployed! I’m enjoying time…enjoying life!

~So, translating domestic duties have presented a FEW challenges…I think the expression “trial and error” must have originated in Spanish! (She says as her 1st attempt of a banana loaf made in Spain bakes weirdly in an ever-so-different Celcius oven-like appliance.)

~1st the purchase of cooking/baking utensils and equipment. I bought one mixing bowl and one measuring cup…that’s all the store had, one of each, lucky me, an electric handheld mixer/cutter sort of gadget, forget measuring spoons and rubber spatulas-they don’t exist, and loaf pans here must be metric or something ‘cause they’re sure a strange size and shape…but “improvising” and “making do” are the name of the game of living life abroad…and should have scouted for oven mitts because I just burnt my hand using a non-water-absorbent but obviously heat-absorbent tea towel I purchased. People here use aluminium foil the way I use plastic wrap.
WHERE IS GLOBALIZATION WHEN YOU NEED IT!
(This is my favourite line, and my new philosophy this year!)

~The banana bread tastes great, not quite the same as Canadian banana bread, but it’s stomach-friendly! It baked in record time…I’m beginning to suspect this ain’t no normal oven I have here. Took me a week to figure out the stove’s funky touch-top keypad “induccion” elements. This figuring out was with the assistance of the landlord…seems you have to have a pot/pan ON the element before it will work…who’da thunk! Thus, the word induction…so, I’m not a genius! It’s just all so overwhelming that sometimes thinking is tough! This oven-like appliance with the multiple dials with funny little pictures on them MAY just be some kind of “bake-it-faster confusion convection contraption”! I’ll have ‘er all figured out in another 11 months.

~You don’t want to know what I’m storing my baked goods in…no, you just don’t want to know! You’ve got to walk in my stinky shoes to know where I’m coming from…remember what I said, “Improvising and making do” are 2 important survival techniques. I’m still alive to tell you about it! That’s all that matters! Good loaf.

~Now, back to the purchasing of ingredients. Cancel vanilla flavouring, and it’s make-your-own chocolate chips with a knife and a semi-sweet dark chocolate bar I found by accident, flour has the consistency of cornstarch…sold in 1 kg. bags…I’m going to wear a path to the grocery store this year. Then the bananas I bought…you know, the yellow ones that really look like bananas…well, they were bendable-couldn’t-even-break-them-in-half impostors…but once I put my handy-dandy chopper to them, they actually tasted like mushed bananas. And then the oil. There is an entire aisle in every grocery store dedicated to olive oil…but where’s the normal vegetable oil? Found 2 lonely bottles of sunflower oil, glad I took my portable pocket dictionary shopping, tucked up and back on a shelf where no Spaniard could ever reach, so I bought them both. And eggs aren’t refrigerated in stores here…why are North Americans so paranoid? No first aid aisle in this grocery store, therefore no baking soda, so had to ask about baking powder…my pocket dictionary was simply too compact. Pardon my Spanish…described, “white powder to put in cakes to make it rise”…I thought I was doing a fine job with my description…and what a confused looking shelf-stocker. So then I added some body language…tricky miming baking powder…should have guessed it was called levandura en polvo…next time I’ll be ready with the language! So, baking one loaf of banana bread has been a day’s adventure! And what did you do today!

~Next, spaghetti sauce. Are you tiring of this yet…’cause I’ve only just begun! Tomato paste doesn’t translate, so Dana buys one of every tomato product in a can to take home and investigate. My tomato vocabulary has expanded ten-fold. I can now say cut-up, ground, peeled and fried tomatoes. How can fried tomatoes come in a can? I think I added tomato soup to my sauce. The outcome was a successful flavour despite the lack of paste and language. Every grocery store sells only the same 6 spices…buy them all and get creative.

~Last cooking complaint for the day. I’m living in a grape infested country, you know, Spain, wine making capital…well, do you think I can find raisins anywhere? Where there are grapes…there have got to be raisins! So, I finally found a store that sells them…in 125 gram packages! Is there no justice in this world?

~Okay, so next domestic duty that’s non-translatable…the cleaning! As soon as a vacuum is measured in Watts as opposed to Amps, one should become suspicious! My blow dryer at home has more oomph than the vac I just bought. Anything heavier than a cat hair MAY suck half way up the hose and then if you hold the hose above your head and vertical, the pieces will fall due to gravity into the canister bag! Glad I also bought a broom. Sponge mops don’t exist in Jaca and I refuse to use a string mop…they just seem to dilute the dirt and spread it around, sloppily! Exposed stone walls are beautiful, but I think they are forever shedders of grit…the price one has to pay for beauty! Something like cats. Buying a cleaner. Go with what you know! Don Limpio…this one I could translate all on my own AND I recognized the picture of “Mr. Clean” himself, dressed in white of course, smiling his obsessive compulsive smile. And he smells good!

~On to other things. I must have a sign attached to my back, on which is written, “Please ask ME for street directions in Spanish” (as opposed to every other Spaniard walking around/near/beside me)! Not only am I new to Jaca, but also slightly unfamiliar to the country (and the language). And I seem to get targeted every time I venture out of my safe haven. Is it that non-English speaking tourists can guess that I carry a map with me at all times-biggest fear, not being able to find your way home! But I love getting Spanish directions. There’s not a Spaniard who won’t give them to you if you ask. They may not be correct directions but they’ll always be considerate and point you in a direction. I’ve learned to ask 3, then average out the results before moving on.

~Let’s see, what other mistakes can I report on! Well, I accepted an ESL teaching position in a little village called Benasque, a couple of valleys away, toward Andorra and the Med. Spent a week immersion teaching and hiking/exploring the mountains and towns surrounding the village. What appeared to be employment served on a silver platter was not cat conducive…so had to give it up! Will find something more local!

~Just bought 2 teenager-aged evergreens. Named them Simon and Garfunkle. Will see which one survives to serve as my Christmas tree…only 106 shopping days remaining. (Peanut butter…Temptation cat treats!!!)

~Requests for a Lauren update! 3 days till departure date! She flies to Amsterdam on Sept. 12 to begin her journey of independence. She has my address and phone number, so I anticipate a visit when she needs a breather from travelling…or money! I am soooooooooooo excited for her. It’s taken years of brainwashing and training her for this year abroad pre-University. Her acceptance to Queen’s has been deferred for a year, so I think she’s set for life…or at least a year or two. As a parent, it’s a nice place to be…I can sit back, relax a little and watch her life unfold…and wait for the phone calls! I envy her adventures because I still value and view my post high school travels with care and clarity, like the learning was yesterday, but I seem to be in the midst of my own adventures today! But it’s different now…I’m different…I’m old(er). I don’t really want to sleep under bridges with rats swimming at my feet, or feed on canned lentils for consecutive days, or have to call collect…I’d much prefer struggling with foreign language-ed appliances and having to carry Spanish kitty litter home without a vehicle.

So enough idiosyncratic rambling from me. Ew, just found a spider the size of Gas’ head! Cats refused to kill it. Looked (simple past tense) like a daddy long legs that had been eating my levandura en polvo!

Here’s to IT being September and ME not having to plan for a year of teaching! Salud!

dana, carb and gas xox