J'aime faire du vélo -- I like to ride bikes

Bonjour!

This post is coming to you from my friend Aline's house in a small town in Brittany (France). I arrived on the morning 17th after taking 3 different buses (total of just over 25 hours, broken up by a night in Madrid with the lovely Becca Niles.)

(For those thinking about the amount of hours that could have been saved flying: there were various reasons for choosing endless hours in a bus over a plane. And it really wasn't as painful to be on a bus for 17 hours as you might expect. :) Maybe I'll blog about it sometime. Now is not that time.)

Random house along a river in Rennes

After the rush of packing up my apartment in Estepa, traveling with my brother, saying good-byes, and tying up loose ends during my last week or two in Andalucia, my stay with Aline and her family has been nice and relaxing. Emilie, my Belgian roommate from this past year in Estepa, was visiting also and just left yesterday. I will be here until the 29th when I take a train down to La Roche Sur Yon to begin my summer camp job.

Brittany is a Celtic region in NW France and the birthplace of crepes. Generally sweet ones are referred to as crepes while salty/savory varieties are called gallettes. * After spending a day in Rennes, a large city about an hour from Aline's house, we went to Aline's parents' house. That evening we went out to this creperie (girl in the picture is Aline) with a few of Aline's friends in a town nearby. I thought of taking a picture of my food, but it didn't look nearly as impressive as it tasted, and in town of probably under 300 residents, I felt weird about taking it. I had one gallete with cheese, smoked ham, mushrooms, and egg and a crepe with chocolate, banana, and whipped cream with cidre to drink. Delicious.

Since then, my days have been filled with lots of biking, baguette sandwich picnics, lazy afternoons reading books, wandering along the coast, and listening to This American Life, Joni Mitchell, and Learn French by Podcast between nodding off on the beach. Also lots of time enjoying meals with Aline and her family at home (while mumbling out all the broken French / Frespanol / Spanish with an attempted French r / English with an attempted French r that I can muster up after eight 10-minute sessions of Learn French by Podcast and the 2 or 3 informal lessons I've had with Aline and Audrey, my other roommate from this past year, also French, over the course of this year. They're patient with me, and we all laugh after a successful - or failed - use of wild hand gestures, animal sounds, etc. to tell a story. Aline helps translating too from Spanish to French, but it's sometimes fun to bumble around in a language that you don't actually speak, right? Maybe? Sometimes I like to think that making a fool out of yourself builds character. In any case, it definitely has built up my French vocabulary a bit.)

À la prochaine! Until next time!

One of many beautiful views from the Quiberon Peninsula , where Aline, Emilie, and I spent the afternoon biking this past Saturday. This part of the peninsula is a protected coast. Several kilometers down the road, the protected area ends, the beaches are sandier, and there are homes, a few spas, one or two resorts, and lots of restaurants, cafes, clothing stores, and candy shops.

* http://www.alimentation-france.com/france/specialites/les-crepes-et-galettes-bretonnes.html

These are my friends

And this is possibly the best idea for a costume party theme that I've ever experienced. ( A dress like a scientist party my sophomore at college is the only one that has come close.) I spent this past weekend in Tarifa (a beach town in Southern Spain with crazy amounts of wind) with my a big group of my friends from Estepa celebrating Suzy's 21st birthday and starting a week full of good byes. The theme: anything beginning with the letter S. S for Suzy. (She's the star in the front row).

When in Rome ...

Post to come about my trip to Rome with my brother. Until then, here's a picture of us with the Colloseum.

In Italy with Dan

1:34 am

Even though neither of them read this blog, thanks to Alex and Stuart for ringing my doorbell 3 times at 1 am.

Though usually I wouldn't appreciate it, today it was perfect. I'd been in bed thinking about how tonight is my last night sleeping in my apartment here in Estepa for close to an hour trying to fall asleep. And after trying to ignore the bell the first two times, I'm glad I decided to answer. Just dropping by to say good bye. I'm leaving for Rome tomorrow, and they'll be gone by the time I come back, so today's the last day we'll see each other for quite a long time. Apparently if I hadn't answered, they were planning to show up at the bus station in the morning for good bye hugs.

Here's to good pals.

A day of gastronomy and spelling

Yesterday I made zucchini bread (as usual.) I'm a little bored with always making the same thing, but since the first time I made it, my roommates haven't stopped bringing it up. They like it so much that I know at this point that if I make any other thing to share with them, the response will almost definitely be "This is good. But the zucchini bread is better!"

So since today there was a Concurso de Gastronomia (Cooking Contest) up at the adult English school in town, I figured zucchini bread was both quite American and a safe choice to bring. It ended up getting 2nd place in the "English/American dish" category. (There was a different category for the best French dish) Not bad for my first try, I think. :-)

Here's a picture of a few of the dishes. The woman in the picture is my friend Angela. She comes to the English conversation table on Thursdays and works at a mantecado factory in Estepa. Her carrot cake won 1st place for the "English/American dish" and rightly so. Delicious.


I'm very full and happy.


Also today at school we had the semifinals for the first annual CEIP Lope de Vega (name of the elementary school where I'm teaching) English Spelling Bee. It's fun to see all of the students nervous and excited and running up and looking at the lists of who won the previous rounds for the 5th, 10th, or 50th time this week during recess. Since we started the contest, I've been thinking about spelling, phonetics in Spanish vs English, and pronunciation of words way too much. But I don't mind.


Now it's time for Sevillana* class, maybe a Cruzcampo afterward, and the beginning of a 4-day weekend. Que bonita es esta vida....**





*What is Sevillana? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevillanas

**Reference to a song I just got stuck in my head: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azAjn8jHt5Y

Especially after this year (living in Spain with a French girl and a Belgian girl), I find relations/stereotypes among Europeans and European countries interesting. So I find this map blog-worthy. Enjoy.

Source: http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=16003661

This post brought to you by Heineken

It seems to me that bars here in Spain are much more inclined to give out free stuff when you order a drink than the bars I know in the US. On evenings with a specific sponsor, if you order a mixed drink with Brugal or Ballentine or Beefeater or whichever other brand has a representative in a bar that night, you are given a scratch off card that you bring to a little table to claim your Brugal or Ballentine or Beefeater or whichever other brand promotional item. Sunglasses, bracelets, and bottle openers are three of the most consistent prizes.

Sometimes though these sponsorships get a bit out of control.

For example, several months ago, I went to Sileno (a bar in Estepa) for 2 Heinekens and walked away with a pair of binoculars, a keychain bottle opener, and a book called Discos historicos y discos que haran historia -- Historical disks and disks that will make history. Walking out of a bar with more drink-sponsored trinkets than the total number of drinks you've consumed that evening is both over the top and awesome.

After leaving it in my desk drawer for two and a half months, I rediscovered this wonder of a book. Which brings me to the current post. A list, courtesy of Heineken, of some of the most influential music disks of the past half a century or so.



1950s and 1960s

Elvis Presley: Elvis Presley (1956)
Louis Prima: The Wildest! (1956)
Miles Davis: Birth Of Cool (1957)
Little Richard: Here's Little Richard (1957)
Billie Holiday: Lady In Satin (1958)
Tito Puente And His Orchestra: Dance Mania, Vol. 1 (1958)
Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Gershwin Song Book (1959)
Ray Charles: The Genius of Ray Charles (1959)
The Everly Brothers: A Date With The Everly Brothers (1960)
James Brown: Live At The Apollo (1963)
The Rolling Stones: The Rolling Stones (1964)
The Beatles: A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Otis Redding: Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)
The Beach Boys: The Beach Boys Today! (1965)
B.B.King: Live At The Regal (1965)
Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
The Who: My Generation (1965)
Jerry Lee Lewis: Live At The Star Club, Hamburg (1965)

The Kinks: Face To Face (1966)
The Mamas And The Papas: If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears (1966)
Simon And Garfunkel: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme (1966)
John Mayall's Blues Breakers: John Mayall's Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton (1966)
Nina Simone: Wild Is The Wind (1966)
The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground And Nico (1967)
The Doors: The Doors (1967)
The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison (1968)
Aretha Franklin: Aretha: Lady Soul (1968)
Sly And The Family Stone: Stand! (1969)
Creedence Clearwater Revival: Green River (1969)
The Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed (1969)
Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin (1969)

1970s

Black Sabbath: Paranoid (1970)
Deep Purple: In Rock (1970)
Santana: Abraxas (1970)
Marvin Gaye: What's Going On (1971)
Carole King: Tapestry (1971)
John Lennon: Imagine (1971)
Janis Joplin: Pearl (1971)
David Bowie: Hunky Dory (1971)
Neil Young: Harvest (1972)
Lou Reed: Transformer (1972)
Stevie Wonder: Talking Book (1972)
ZZ Top: Tres Hombres (1973)
Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells (1973)
Alice Cooper: Billion Dollar Babies (1973)
Iggy And The Stooges: Raw Power (1973)
Supertramp: Crime Of The Century (1974)
Bruce Springsteen: Born To Run (1975)
Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here (1975)
Eagles: Hotel California (1976)
Abba: Arrival (1976)
Ramones: Ramones (1976)
The Clash: The Clash (1977)
David Bowie: "Heroes" (1977)

1980s

AC/DC: Back In Black (1980)
Pretenders: Pretenders (1980)
Madness: The Rise And Fall (1982)
The Cure: Pornography (1982)
Michael Jackson: Thriller (1982)
Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (1983)
Prince And The Revolution: Purple Rain (1984)
Tina Turner: Private Dancer (1984)
Bruce Springsteen: Born In The USA (1984)
A-ha: Hunting High And Low (1985)
Dire Straits: Brothers In Arms (1985)
The Jesus & Mary Chain: Psychocandy (1985)
Kate Bush: Hounds Of Love (1985)
Metallica: Master Of Puppets (1986)
Dinosaur Jr.: You're Living All Over Me (1987)
George Michael: Faith (1987)
Guns N' Roses: Appetite For Destruction (1987)
US: The Joshua Tree (1987)
Pet Shop Boys: Actually (1987)
Tacy Chapman: Tracy Chapman (1988)
Madonna: Like A Prayer (1989)
The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses (1989)

1990s

Depache Mode: Violator (1990)
Pixies: Bossanova (1990)
Public Enemy: Fear Of A Black Planet (1990)
Sinead O'Connor: I DO Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990)
Neil Young And Crazy Horse: Ragged Glory (1990)
Nirvana: Nevermind (1991)
Crowded House: Woodface (1991)
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)
Pearl Jam: Ten (1991)
Massive Attack: Blue Lines (1991)
Metallica: Metallica (1991)
Morrissey: "Your Arsenal" (1992)
Lemonheads: It's A Shame About Ray (1992)
Rage Against The Machine: Rage Against The Machine (1992)
R.E.M.: Automatic For The People (1992)
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds: Henry's Dream (1992)
Suede: Suede (1993)
The Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream (1993)
Blur: Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993)
Jamiroquai: Emergency On Planet Earth (1993)
Bjork: Debut (1993)
Portishead: Dummy (1994)
Soundgarden: Superunknown (1994)
The Offspring: Smash (1994)
Blur: Parklife (1994)
Suede: Dog Man Star (1994)
Nirvana: MTV NUnplugged in NYC (1994)
Green Day: Dookie (1994)

Foo Fighters: Foo Fighters (1995)
Garbage: Garbage (1995)
Elastica: Elastica (1995)
Supergrass: I Should Coco (1995)
Radiohead: The Bends (1995)
Pulp: Different Class (1995)
Alanis Morissette: Jagged LIttle Pill (1995)
Oasis: (What's The Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
The Charlatans: Tellin' Stories (1996)
Manic Street Preachers: Everything Must Go (1996)
Marilyn Manson: Antichrist Superstar (1996)
Fiona Apple: Tidal (1996)
Radiohead: OK Computer (1997)
Blur: Blur (1997)
Robbie Williams: Life Thru A Lens (1997)
David Gray: White Ladder (1998)
Hole: Celebrity Skin (1998)
Travis: The Man Who (1999)
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Californication (1999)
Skunk Anansie: Post Orgasmic Chill (1999)
Nitin Sawhney: Beyond Skin (1999)

2000s
Radiohead: Kid A (2000)
U2: All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)
P.J. Harvey: Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea (2000)
Coldplay: Parachutes (2000)
The Avalanches: Since I Left You (2000)
Bjork: Vespertine (2001)
Ryan Adams: Gold (2001)
The White Stripes: White Blood Cells (2001)
The Strokes: Is This It (2001)
The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002)
Doves: The Last Broadcast (2002)
The Hives: Your New Favorite Band (2002)
Radiohead: Hail To The Thief (2003)
The Darkness: Permission To Land (2003)
The White Stripes: Elephant (2003)
Amy Winehouse: Frank (2003)
Scissor Sisters: Scissor Sisters (2004)
Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand (2004)
Rufus Wainwright: Want Two (2004)
The Killers: Hot Fuss (2004)
Kings Of Leon: Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)
Arcade Fire: Funeral (2004)
Beck: Guero (2005)
Muse: Black Holes & Revelations (2006)
Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)