My host mom and her sister-in-law Malu. I stayed in Malu´s house this weekend and it was heavenly! First off, it is a real house and not a flat. The spanish refer to this type of house, and the houses that we live in in America, as challets and only associate them with the rich. Malu prepared delicious food for us. Mmmm!
My favorite cousin, Marta, is five years old. We played ball in the backyard, she taught me spanish vocabulary, and I described America to her. She had never heard of America before since she is so young and lives a sheltered life.
Lunch one day at grandma´s house. The fish was excellent and the shrimp was better than usual. The next lunch, however, of oisters and rice with clams was not something I would go for again. Too many shelly animals in one meal is not my style.
The view from the balcony of the grandparent´s house in Malaga:
The view from a different window of the grandparent´s house. This reminded me of Delhi, only cleaner. I thought you, David and Rachel, might find it interesting. I keep on noticing things here that I wish I could comment to you, Rachel. Man, I need my traveling buddy here!
My favorite cousin, Marta, is five years old. We played ball in the backyard, she taught me spanish vocabulary, and I described America to her. She had never heard of America before since she is so young and lives a sheltered life.
Lunch one day at grandma´s house. The fish was excellent and the shrimp was better than usual. The next lunch, however, of oisters and rice with clams was not something I would go for again. Too many shelly animals in one meal is not my style.
The view from the balcony of the grandparent´s house in Malaga:
The view from a different window of the grandparent´s house. This reminded me of Delhi, only cleaner. I thought you, David and Rachel, might find it interesting. I keep on noticing things here that I wish I could comment to you, Rachel. Man, I need my traveling buddy here!
I wish I was there too!!!
ReplyDeleteWe'll go traveling together again someday! Conquer the world's nuances, one culture at a time!
Goodness, that would be WAY to much fun : )
I agree, like Bitu's house, just ALOT cleaner. Are open houses like that common?
~ Rachel
I don´t think so. I´ve never seen an open house like that before. I think it is in some stage of rennovation. Its really interesting to walk through a tightly packed city with narrow streets and suddenly come upon a place between two buildings where there was once a house. You can see the layout of the entire house that was merely by glancing at the surrounding walls, making out stairways, bathrooms and kitchens based on the plaster marks, paint, and plumbing. It almost feels like you are getting a look at an intimate part of someone´s life. This leads me to think of how this is a nation of stone, while America is essentially a country of wood. The structures here are built to last, while America builds for convenience and economic spending. Europe really feels more ancient than America. That´s what I love so much about this place; I am inundated in history every day, with castles on every-other hill top and ancient Cathedrals hugged by the modern shops and apartments. History here started up long before 1492, and because of this, time seems to have slowed its pace to admire the greenery-draped landscapes, instead of always focusing on progress and future goals. It´s a lovely feeling, knowing that you are so small compared to the vast history that has come before you but understanding that every stone you move will affect the un-rolling of centuries to come. You are connected with the Egyptians, Moors, Crusaiders, and Greeks because your history has always been interwoven with theirs. You are not isolated from so much of the world by vast bodies of water. You are comfortably in the middle of everything.
ReplyDeletewow, I just realized how abruptly I changed topic within my previous comment from this picture to the absence of a building. Stream of consciousness, that was! I apologize!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Jocelyn
No need to apologize, I totally get what you mean about being surrounded by history. And I like the thought about being comfotably in the middle of everything... must be nice!
ReplyDelete~ Rachel