After taking our drink orders, the waiter returned with a Coca-cola Zero, a flask of wine, and two tall glasses, scratched from years of use. I wondered why he didn’t bring a wine glass as I pulled the cork from the flask. “How does that work again?” Michael asked me, eyeing the flask. “How do…
Category: Spain
Four Years Ago
Four years ago: An alarm on my phone would sound at 9pm reminding me it was time to get ready for bed. Today: I rarely go to sleep before midnight. Four years ago: My vacation dates were pretty much the same time as every other teacher and every family with school-age children in the US….
Best Moments of 2023
As usual, they are in no particular order. . . As usual, I’m sure there are many more that I missed. If that was you, I’m sorry. Know that I love each and every one of you and any moment shared with you is a moment I treasure. Much love to you all, Rebecca
Lunches, Liquor and Other Rabbit Holes
“I just finished my small lunch,” Ricardo said. I knew what he meant. He had just finished his almeurzo. If you look up the English translation, it will say, “lunch.” But in Valencia, Spain (where Ricardo lives), it is definitely not lunch. Almuerzo consists of a small sandwich accompanied by a glass of wine or…
License to Drive (Part 2)
I looked at the street sign and realized I had no idea what it meant. An orange oval lay on its side attached to the horizontal orange line below it. This structure hovered over a black axle with a wheel on either side. Below all of this were three squiggly black lines. I was certain…
License to Drive (Part 1)
I am proficient enough in Spanish to read posters on the streets and emails confirming appointments. But I am certainly not proficient enough to navigate the questions asked on the Spanish driving test. So I took the test in English. And I’m not sure that was any easier. It seems they’ve used Google translate. The…
Learning Spanish: An Update
Yesterday Michael and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner for 18 guests, all but two of whom were native Spanish speakers. And the two who were not native? They’re pretty much fluent. And guess what? I was able to follow nearly every conversation. Whether we were talking about the differences between buying a home in Spain versus…
Thanksgiving Compromises
“She’s bringing potato smoothies?” Michael asked. “Smoothies? Where did she say that?” I asked while scrolling through the messages in our Thanksgiving 2023 WhatsApp group. “Patatas batidos,” Michael said. “I looked it up — it means potato smoothies.” “But did you read what she wrote right after that?” I translated it for Michael. “She says…
If They Build It. . .
I have recently acquired a fear of blind curves. More specifically: blind curves in Spain. In the US, such road hazards are preceded by one or more signs: an image of a curvy road, the words “blind curve ahead,” or an encouragement to beep one’s horn to alert oncoming traffic of your impending arrival. Unfortunately,…
RenaissanceRebecca 