Pictures

(post written by Charlie)

Since writing out a relatively detailed description of our lives here in Tres Cantos, I have had a difficult time thinking of blog topics to discuss. People from home often ask us, "So, what's new?".  And the funny thing is, the answer is really nothing. And this isn't to say we don't have things going on. We're really busy most of the time. But our life has settled into a wonderful season of unchanging patterns and rituals. I think this is one of the pleasures of living in Europe for a year, instead of a whirlwind backpacking trip (which certainly would have its advantages as well). Living here allows us to begin to breathe with the culture, instead of seeing from a tinted glass. We see its highs and lows, and we become desensitized to some things while becoming acutely aware of others that a tourist just couldn't see. I'm enjoying this stage of normalcy, and finding pleasure in simple things like walking to basketball practice, making friends with the unemployed Nigerian men who attempt to sell newspapers outside our local grocery store, and laughing most mornings with our neighbour Juan who thinks that wearing a t-shirt when its only 17°C outside is madness. He speaks enough English to laugh and say "Crazy Canadians" at the same time.

Unfortunately for our friends and family, who the readers of this blog are most likely a part of, by me not updating our blog, I have neglected the important task of uploading pictures. So, today, I have three collections to show, and two specifically give a good glimpse into our ministry here.

CCTC Christmas Pageant 2008

One of the yearly joys of many church congregations is the Christmas play by the children. This year, the kids who attend our various "Godly Play" groups, boys groups, and girls groups made up our spectacular cast of Isaiah, Mary, Joseph, Shepherds and Wisemen. Prepare yourselves for Spanish cuteness and the least organized play of all time (we had one "rehearsal" the week before that lasted 38 minutes).

Christmas Caroling

As an act of love and kindness to bless Seniors, and to help former English camp students practice English, every year we sing Christmas carols in a local Senior's Home. We were scheduled to sing at 11:00am, which was delayed, thankfully, because our rehearsal began at 10:30am the same morning. This included being accompanied by FOUR violinists who received the music they were playing a few minutes before the rehearsal. When I look back on the experience, I don't know if practicing for hours and hours would have helped our group much. I guess they knew what they were doing. Welcome, once again, to Spain.

New Year's in Belgium

It may come as a surprise to some that one of the highlights of our time in Spain has been spent in Belgium, but it is certainly true. My cousin Myrna, her husband Shawn, and their son Hudson played hosts and tour guides of Leuven, Belgium, a wonderful little university town where Erasmus once taught—no biggie. While the sites were spectacular (Bruges was a highlight), the joy was really in our time spent with loved ones, being encouraged, strengthened, and loved up like crazy. It certainly doesn't hurt that Myrna is a wonderful cook, and kept us well fed with delicious meals, wonderful Christmas treats, and spectacular bread, pastries, waffles (Oh my goodness!), and cheeses! One of the best parts of living in Europe when other family members do as well, is the insanely cheap flights that can take you anywhere in about two hours or less. It's like living in Calgary and having family that lives in Edmonton. 

Hopefully you enjoyed this little jaunt with us through or Christmas season (even though it was almost 2 months ago). If I get the chance, I'll be uploading our pictures from our recent Extended Learning Experience with fellow onSiter Eleah from Sweden when we met up in Lisbon, Portugal. Did I mention I love flights that cost nothing?

Edit: I thought I would upload this video that our mentor Tim recorded during the Caroling. Pictures can say a lot, but in this case, a video (particularly the audio) communicates what pictures simply can't.

C is for...

…Café con leche and chorizo

Move aside Starbucks. Step out of the way Second Cup. There’s no room for you here in Spain (unless a tourist is looking for you and in that case, they’re not really here to experience the culture!). Café con leche literally meaning coffee with milk is definitely the drink of choice here. And don’t think that you’re given the choice to add skim, 2% or cream to your coffee. Instead you’re given the option of caliente (hot) or templada (room temperature). In fact, many households are equipped with their very own milk warmer! Costing a mere 1.20€, it’s really the best deal in town. The Spaniards love their coffee break time and we’ve certainly embraced the pastime.

Another thing that we have embraced is their love for all things chorizo. Spanish chorizo is made from coarsely chopped pork and pork fat, seasoned with smoked pimentón (paprika) and salt. It is generally classed as either picante (spicy) or dulce (mild), depending upon the type of smoked paprika used. There are hundreds of regional varieties of Spanish chorizo, both smoked and unsmoked, which may contain garlic, herbs and other ingredients. Chorizo comes in short, long, hard and soft varieties. Some of which are suited to being eaten as an appetizer or tapas, whereas others are better suited to cooking. Leaner varieties are typically better suited to tapas, eaten at room temperature, whereas fattier versions are generally used for cooking. A general rule of thumb is that long, thin chorizos are sweeter and short chorizos are spicy, although this is not always the case. After one grocery trip, we had 5 different kinds of chorizo in our fridge! I know I’m definitely going to miss it when we return back to Canada.

B is for...

... Bears & Bidets!

Well, you might be wondering what these two things could possibly have in common. Allow me to tell you. Should you ever make your way over to Tres Cantos, Calle Siena 65 to be exact, and you needed to use the facilities, both of these things would be waiting your arrival! 

When Charlie and I first arrived in Spain, we were pleasantly greeted by this, uh, cheery bathroom. What the picture fails to show is the teddy bear wastebasket along with the matching toothbrush holder and bathmat. Now, I must make mention that the previous tenants have two young children and so I view it through their eyes. I cannot promise that other bathrooms would offer such cuddly decoration.

What I can promise however, is that every self respecting bathroom in Spain will have a bidet (pronounced buh-day). Houses can often be sold for a higher price with the knowledge that there is a 5-piece bathroom (tub, shower, toilet, sink + bidet) rather than a simple 4 piece. Charlie thinks that it will be a great foot washer come the summer time. I'll have to let you know how that goes.