You may think that this has nothing to do with Spain. Oh, but it does.
In the United States, mosquitoes are a common enemy through which we ALL bond together and fight against ... republicans, democrats, and intelligent-independent thinkers - rich, poor, and more poor - male, female, and other - brown, tan, pink, yellow and olive.
In the United States - almost everyone has screens on their windows and doors and vents; everyone has mosquito repellent sprays and lotions and candles; many people have lights that attract and then *zap* and kill mosquitoes (mosquitoes are the one thing that I do not mind killing); communities send out trucks that spray mosquito repellent (poison). There are articles in the newspapers and magazines every week about how to prevent mosquito propagation. Mosquitoes have not gotten more intelligent in the United States - they have just gotten more dangerous. Now some of them carry West Nile virus.
On the other hand, Spaniards do not seem to be as bothered by mosquitoes as Americans are. No pasa nada. In Spain, very few people have screens on their windows. If you look hard enough at the store, you might find plug-ins that claim to repel mosquitoes. When Spaniards get bit by mosquitoes, they continue with their conversation and scratch the bite ... maybe. No pasa nada.
But, maybe it would not matter anyway. We think the mosquitoes in Spain are more highly evolved and more intelligent than the mosquitoes in the United States.
We have screens on the windows here. It was one of the first things we did when we got here. We made screens on the doors and windows where there weren't any. It doesn't matter. The mosquitoes figure out how to get in.
Not IF but WHEN they get in, Spanish mosquitoes scope out the surroundings and find hiding places. Then, they wait for the lights to go out and sometimes even wait for us to fall asleep. (They can tell we are asleep based on the depth and frequency of our breathing.) Then, they bite. If by chance, we wake up and try to get them ... the mosquitoes retreat immediately into the hiding places that they scoped out previously.
Sometimes, the mosquitoes play tricks on us ... buzz around our ears until we wake up and turn on the light and then they hide and wait for us to fall asleep again. When the lights go out again, they buzz in our ears again and then hide.
I know you think I am kidding or exaggerating. I'm not. Everything I've said is true. (Matthew, Eugene, Amy - support me here. It is all true, is it not?) It has come to the point now that I'm trying to deal with the mosquito torment at a subconscious level. I've been dreaming about intelligent mosquitoes.
(Sharing dreams can be dangerous. Friends who are psychologists might not let me play with their kids anymore. My in-laws might not invite me to Thanksgiving dinner anymore. But, I'm taking the risk - hoping that sharing these dreams will help me conquer the inner war I am fighting. I've had a string of intelligent mosquito dreams.)
Dream 1: Trying to deal with the mosquito at her level ... intelligently, telepathically. (Did you know that only female mosquitoes bite?)
I was sleeping (and dreaming) when I heard a mosquito buzzing around my ear. I didn't want to move my head or change my breathing rhythm at all - because then the mosquito would go into hiding.
So, I tried to contact the mosquito telepathically. In my dream, I sent out a telepathic message that I was willing to negotiate with the mosquito. I have plenty of blood. The mosquito was welcome to have as much blood as she wanted IF she would stop buzzing in my ear. Also, I would appreciate it if she didn't leave that anti-coagulating stuff behind that makes me itch.
My dream was somewhat successful. The mosquito bit and stopped buzzing in my ear. However, the bites did itch when I woke up.
Dream 2. Location, Location, Location
This was another telepathic dream. I sent a telepathic message to the mosquito that I had seen in the bedroom before going to bed ... which neither Matthew nor I could find in our 30 minutes of frantically searching.
I asked the mosquito nicely (and telepathically) - please do not bite me around my joints. She can get blood from flat/fat surfaces too. It might be a little harder to find a vein under the layers of fat but I will be more tolerant and we will be able to get along better over time. It would be a win/win situation. I even moved my leg and arm out of the sheet so she would have a large surface area to work with.
This dream was not successful. I got bit on my ankle and my forearm (by the bone).
Dream 3. Telepathic negotiations broke down. Now, I was simply on the defense.
This dream was NOT about mosquitoes. I couldn't remember what exactly the dream was about, but I do remember that it was a good dream and I didn't want it to be interrupted.
I got a mosquito bite and I had the urge to itch it ... but I didn't want to have to wake up and end my good dream. So, in my dream (I was in an audience or something) I leaned forward to touch a railing to itch my mosquito bit. It didn't work. I still had the urge to itch. I tried to just casually rub my arm and work it into my dream inconspicuously.
I forgot what happened. I had a bump there in the morning and it still itched. Darn.
Dream 4. Don't fight.
As you can imagine, I was starting to get frustrated by all this. It didn't seem like anything was working.
In the last "intelligent mosquito" dream that I had, there were four mosquitos (four ... and, coincidentally, the youngest was male ... hee, hee). I told the mosquitoes - out loud this time (in my dream) - that I know they are intelligent but they are not going to get the best of me. I know that they are just trying to get me angry by biting me all the time but it isn't going to work.
I am not going to lower myself to their level. I am not going to get upset by their tricks and tactics. I'm just going to ignore them. I also didn't want them to see me itching my bites because I didn't want them to know they got a reaction out of me.
I think this last one worked. I haven't gotten another bite for a few days. Maybe I did but I just didn't itch it.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Behís
We were still spinning from our whirlwind vacation and we were off again. Isabel and Rafa invited us to come stay with them at their vacation home in Behís. Behís is a small mountain-top village about 80 km northwest of Valencia.
Isabel and Rafa's home is near the top of the village just below the castle ruins. Their home is beautiful ... completely refurbished and completely decorated country-style with things that Isabel made.
In and around Behís, there are a lot of things to do. We walked up to the castle to explore and to pick lavender. Yana and I climbed up the wall from below to breach the (crumbling) castle.
We went swimming and climbing and jumping.
Matthew and Rafa went for a (vertical) bike ride.
We all had a great time though Bronson had the greatest time of all. Finally, Bronson had lots of boys to play with. In Valencia, Bronson lives with 6 girls and is always surrounded by their girlfriends. Bronson often has to play by himself or play with dolls and Barbies. Once in a while, the girls let Bronson include his transformers, little soldiers, cars, or plastic dinosaurs in their games ... though they usually make Bronson give them proper names (Red Eye Razor Claw doesn't count) and he has to follow certain rules of etiquette. For example, Transformers cannot transform when they are in the stroller with a baby doll; soldiers can only defend Barbie, they cannot attack; dinosaurs cannot play in the doll house.
In Behís, Bronson was free to be 100% boy. One day, we noticed a huge bloody scrape on his knee and leg. He said he had fallen a few times from the bike. No running to Mommy. No tears. No dramatic production. Apparently, he just got back up on the bike. What a difference! When it was time for us to go home, Bronson was happy to stay for another week with Basa.
Isabel and Rafa's home is near the top of the village just below the castle ruins. Their home is beautiful ... completely refurbished and completely decorated country-style with things that Isabel made.
In and around Behís, there are a lot of things to do. We walked up to the castle to explore and to pick lavender. Yana and I climbed up the wall from below to breach the (crumbling) castle.
We went swimming and climbing and jumping.
Matthew and Rafa went for a (vertical) bike ride.
We all had a great time though Bronson had the greatest time of all. Finally, Bronson had lots of boys to play with. In Valencia, Bronson lives with 6 girls and is always surrounded by their girlfriends. Bronson often has to play by himself or play with dolls and Barbies. Once in a while, the girls let Bronson include his transformers, little soldiers, cars, or plastic dinosaurs in their games ... though they usually make Bronson give them proper names (Red Eye Razor Claw doesn't count) and he has to follow certain rules of etiquette. For example, Transformers cannot transform when they are in the stroller with a baby doll; soldiers can only defend Barbie, they cannot attack; dinosaurs cannot play in the doll house.
In Behís, Bronson was free to be 100% boy. One day, we noticed a huge bloody scrape on his knee and leg. He said he had fallen a few times from the bike. No running to Mommy. No tears. No dramatic production. Apparently, he just got back up on the bike. What a difference! When it was time for us to go home, Bronson was happy to stay for another week with Basa.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Toledo
If I were king - besides providing free popcorn to all my constituents and piping Michael Jackson songs throughout my palace - I would choose Toledo for my kingdom. It is built on top of a sturdy rock and has a river wrapped around three sides. It is majestic.
The old part of the city is a labyrinth of narrow streets that either go up or down; no street is level and no street is straight. It was fun to just walk for a while and then try to figure out where you were. We discovered that Bronson has a great sense of direction. Matthew and Bronson went to Mass at the cathedral. Afterward, Bronson led the way back to our apartment while Matthew tried to figure out where they were on the map.
Toledo is nicknamed the City of Three Cultures. For centuries, Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived together (until the Spanish Inquisition - OUCH). The historical architecture is an integration of different cultures. Our apartment was next door to the Mosque of Christ and around the corner from the Gate of the Sun.
Integration isn't the first thing I think of when there is a specific Jewish section of town. I guess you had to be there back then to know what "living together" really meant.
The walls of the city, the gates, the monuments, and the buildings were really well-maintained (and being maintained). It also seems they are making an effort to vitalize the parks around the city - especially along the river.
For my birthday, Matthew and the kids treated me to a walk along the river and all the way around the city.
I wasn't very keen on the modern sculptures sprinkled around the city. They didn't fit in and sometimes they detracted from the historic feeling. Kids will be kids; they enjoyed climbing on the sculptures.
We loved our apartment in Toledo. It was modern, classy, comfortable, and an awesome use of space. I don't typically recommend places of business because different people have different likes and dislikes. I recommend this apartment: http://www.alojatoledo.com/. I can't think of anything to dislike about it - great space (for up to 6 people), great decor, great location, and great price.
Lots more photos from Toledo:
Corral de Almaguer
Zippity-do ... We took a bus to Corral de Almaguer, a small village about 100 km south of Madrid. (I was wishing that it was farther because the bus driver was playing Michael Jackson songs.)
Paulino and Charo (Rosario) are our neighbors in Valencia and Paulino is a guidance counselor at Yana's school. Both of them are from Corral de Almaguer. (Believe it or not, they do have children - already grown-up.)
Friends of theirs have a daughter Yana's age so Paulino arranged for Yana to stay with them in Corral de Almaguer. The rest of us went for a few days to get to know the village and Yana's host family.
I love it when your tour guide says stuff like ... "That is where I went to preschool." ... "I learned to swim in this river." ... "This is the cafe where we went on dates." ... "Over there is our family's vineyard. My older sister's family farms it."
I could not do the same in the US. I'd be saying stuff like ... "That is where I was kicked out of kindergarten." ... "My brothers and I learned to swim in this ditch with our snowmobile suits on ." ... "That is where a neighbor boy punched me into the next day and dislocated my jaw." ... "This is the convenience store where I stole a pack of gum."
Even though Pauline and Charo now live in Valencia, they spend a great deal of time in Corral de Almaguer. They are proud of their hometown and remain actively involved in the community. The community itself is really active. Whenever I missed Yana, I read the community website. (It is in Spanish - sorry - but I think it is a great example of a community website: http://www.amigosdecorral.net/.)
Pauline and Charo gave us a tour of their "new" house, which is older than the United States. With relatives, they bought a traditional-style house with an exposed central patio. Traditionally, several houses were built together in a square with a shared central patio. But unlike the shared patios of today, most of the rooms of the house are accessed from the central patio. It would not work in Chicago; we would freeze our tootsies off in the winter.
The house feels like a palace. There are 16 foot ceilings on the first and 2nd floor, a chapel, and rooms big enough to play basketball. Pauline and Charo are going to renovate it. We can't wait to see it when they are finished.
We spent time with Yana's host family - Alfonsa, Jose Luis Sr., Jose Luis Jr., and Maria. Of course, we trusted Paulino and Charo's choice of friends. Nonetheless, it was comforting to get to know them a little before saying good-bye to Yana.
Yana had a great time and has some good stories of the typical teenage summer vacation in a small town. (Maybe Yana will write a blog. If she does, I'll erase this part and let her tell it.) Maria reminded Yana of her good friend, Kiera ... a lot of fun packed into what you might think is a shy person. Maria lives in Madrid but spends many weekends and all her vacations in Corral de Almaguer. So, she has a ton of friends in Corral. They spend all day together at the pool and then all night together at a party for teenagers and young adults. Yana tried to acclimate though had to retire early (before 2 am) a couple of times.
Paulino and Charo (Rosario) are our neighbors in Valencia and Paulino is a guidance counselor at Yana's school. Both of them are from Corral de Almaguer. (Believe it or not, they do have children - already grown-up.)
Friends of theirs have a daughter Yana's age so Paulino arranged for Yana to stay with them in Corral de Almaguer. The rest of us went for a few days to get to know the village and Yana's host family.
Pauline and Charo showed us around and introduced us to lots of their family and friends. Like last year when Margarita showed us around Córdoba, there is something really cool about someone showing you around their hometown. They are part of it and they know so much about it ... the history, the people, the changes, the stories.
I love it when your tour guide says stuff like ... "That is where I went to preschool." ... "I learned to swim in this river." ... "This is the cafe where we went on dates." ... "Over there is our family's vineyard. My older sister's family farms it."
I could not do the same in the US. I'd be saying stuff like ... "That is where I was kicked out of kindergarten." ... "My brothers and I learned to swim in this ditch with our snowmobile suits on ." ... "That is where a neighbor boy punched me into the next day and dislocated my jaw." ... "This is the convenience store where I stole a pack of gum."
Even though Pauline and Charo now live in Valencia, they spend a great deal of time in Corral de Almaguer. They are proud of their hometown and remain actively involved in the community. The community itself is really active. Whenever I missed Yana, I read the community website. (It is in Spanish - sorry - but I think it is a great example of a community website: http://www.amigosdecorral.net/.)
Pauline and Charo gave us a tour of their "new" house, which is older than the United States. With relatives, they bought a traditional-style house with an exposed central patio. Traditionally, several houses were built together in a square with a shared central patio. But unlike the shared patios of today, most of the rooms of the house are accessed from the central patio. It would not work in Chicago; we would freeze our tootsies off in the winter.
The house feels like a palace. There are 16 foot ceilings on the first and 2nd floor, a chapel, and rooms big enough to play basketball. Pauline and Charo are going to renovate it. We can't wait to see it when they are finished.
We spent time with Yana's host family - Alfonsa, Jose Luis Sr., Jose Luis Jr., and Maria. Of course, we trusted Paulino and Charo's choice of friends. Nonetheless, it was comforting to get to know them a little before saying good-bye to Yana.
Yana had a great time and has some good stories of the typical teenage summer vacation in a small town. (Maybe Yana will write a blog. If she does, I'll erase this part and let her tell it.) Maria reminded Yana of her good friend, Kiera ... a lot of fun packed into what you might think is a shy person. Maria lives in Madrid but spends many weekends and all her vacations in Corral de Almaguer. So, she has a ton of friends in Corral. They spend all day together at the pool and then all night together at a party for teenagers and young adults. Yana tried to acclimate though had to retire early (before 2 am) a couple of times.
More photos from Corral de Almaguer:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157606781663994/
Madrid
Madrid is a huge city but it has an extensive public transportation system. We booked a hostal conveniently located next to a metro stop. Unfortunately, that metro stop and a few before it were inconveniently closed for constrution ... so we had to continue our camino at 11 pm in the south of Madrid.
By the time we went for dinner, it was past midnight. We tried a few restaurants but they were no longer serving food so ... we ate at Burger King! Actually, we never go to Burger King in the US. But, Matthew has wanted to go since he found out that Burger King serves beer in Spain. No joke.
In the morning, I went for a "short" walk while the kids were still sleeping. It looked pretty short on the map - except it took me over 2 hours! It was lunch time by the time I got back.
Madrid is BIG. We only had a day so, needless to say, we didn't see it all. We walked a few of the main streets and found a few of the "points of interest." We also found the vents pretty interesting and fun.
We did see the Prado Museum ... while eating oranges on the front lawn and listening to music. We walked through Buen Retiro Park ( translates to "pleasant retreat") for hours - because it is so big.
More photos from Madrid:
Our Mini-Camino
After three wonderful days in Boadilla del Camino, we had a mini 6 kilometer camino to the next village (where there is a train station). A few days earlier when we arrived, Eduardo picked us up. He would have taken us back when we were leaving but, I wanted Matthew and the kids to experience a little bit of the camino so they would know what it was like.
We packed our backpacks, put on comfortable shoes, and walked.
One millisecond before Bronson and Elena died of exhaustion (or so they claimed), we arrived at the train station in Fromista. Thank goodness - we didn't want any casualties. Funny thing. While we waited for the train, Bronson and Elena played tag with a little girl they met at the train station - running, hiding, and chasing each other.
Other photos from our mini-camino:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157606779344198/
We packed our backpacks, put on comfortable shoes, and walked.
One millisecond before Bronson and Elena died of exhaustion (or so they claimed), we arrived at the train station in Fromista. Thank goodness - we didn't want any casualties. Funny thing. While we waited for the train, Bronson and Elena played tag with a little girl they met at the train station - running, hiding, and chasing each other.
Other photos from our mini-camino:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157606779344198/
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