Saturday, May 14, 2011

Meet Me Halfway

As today marks completion of half of this crazy Spanish adventure (yup, it’s been 44 days already peeps), I have some fun metacognitive updates on my self-actualization for you! 
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Aren’t you so excited!?
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As well as a few statistics from my trip thus far!
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Just wait, it’ll be grand.
Before we get to all of that excitement, let me just tell you a little story of how Alicia got her groove back.  
And no, it’s not THAT kind of groove.  Get your head out of the gutter, Dadddd.
Believe it or not, I have been known to whip up some pretty tasty treats in the past, as well as present them in a fashionable and completely domestic princess-esque manner.  Those ice cubes looking a little plain?  Let’s jazz ‘em up with some lemon slices!  Need to add a little ‘umpfh’ to that plate of cookies?  Throw a doily under it!  Don’t have any time or energy, your friends are on their way over, and something may be burning?  Make those intricately designed, time consuming, highly unnecessary but oh-so-adorable place cards anyway!
Aside from my reign as Domestic Princess of my kitchen, I also serve as the Queen of Biting Off More Than Thou Can Cheweth Land.  Hence, pierogies.  And after the Great Pierogi Debacle of 2011, I was feeling less like Martha Stewart and more like I had just made my generous Spanish family “Polish Surprise” for Easter, with the surprise being that your mouth becomes cemented shut.  So in desperate search of a comeback, I went with a pair of good ol’ standbys: jambalaya and marinated meat.  You may be thinking, “Alicia, how oh so dull of you.  What ever happened to fancy stuff like cornish game hen, and flounder, and roasted red pepper risotto??  Standbys...pssshhh.”  Say what you will, but thanks to the recipes of my mom and Mama Rees, and a little creativity at the grocery store, I got the Martha magic back in me.


 Now, I shall treat you to a peek inside my head with a healthy dose of metacognition and a view into the inner-workings of la chica americana.  I don’t talk about how I’m “doing” so much in my blogs because, contrary to the amount of times I make the posts about myself, I really don’t want it all to be about me.  So...with that being said, I’m doing great!  
I wake up every morning and look at the Mediterranean Sea and think of how very lucky I am.  I spend my days touring around Alicante, going to the beach, reading, studying Spanish (sometimes), and doing what I’ve come to love the most, which is writing posts about my (mis)adventures.  Now halfway through my trip, I’m tanner, a little bit fatter (damn you chocolate croissants!), and a lot more broke than when I left, but I’m happier.  I feel more independent, more confident, and more excited about my future than ever before.  I’ve met great people, eaten amazing things (and a few strange things too), seen beautiful places, and I still have a month and a half left.  Of course I miss home and all of you wonderful people that encompass that word in my mind, but I’ve got you all with me here and there are still adventures to be had.  
So to complete today’s post and to highlight some (hopefully) interesting factoids about my trip so far, I’ve compiled a list of statistics about Alicia in Spain.  Here are the running totals thus far:
Days in Spain: 44
Blog posts written: 15
Number of words written: 10,859
Minutes of video taken: 54 minutes, 46 seconds
Number of photos taken: 2,067
Estimated number of loaves of bread consumed: 11
Net weight gain/loss: + 4 lbs.
Pairs of shoes purchased: 5
They look so innocent here.
Average inches taller than most Spanish men I am: 2-3 inches
Percentage of music played on the radio that is American: roughly 75%
Estimated number of times I’ve been to the beach: 20
Average amount of time it takes me to say one sentence in Spanish: 2 minutes
Favorite Spanish food so far: Almond gazpacho, Amparo’s lentil soup, and Fanta Límon of course.
Least favorite Spanish food so far: A kind of fish I had in Sevilla that had an almost powdery consistency...blach.
Favorite tourist attraction so far: Catedral de Santa María de Sede in Sevilla
Least favorite tourist attraction so far: The nudie beaches and the wildlife that inhabit those...parts.
Absolute favorite thing about España so far: A few things; the people; all the buildings are old and gorgeous; the sunshine.
Least favorite thing about España so far: All of you aren’t here to enjoy it with me!
Goals for the next month and a half: Learn wayyy more Spanish, make friends with Borja's cat, Zipi, who I'm pretty sure is really a small bear, secure a summer job at home, do more traveling here, and learn how to drive a stick (a manual car, Daddd, quit thinking so dirty).
So there you have it!  Halfway through la chica americana in España!  But where will she end up next!?

Stay tuned...and thanks for reading,
Alicia

4 comments:

  1. I loved this post almost as much as the dongs-on-the-beach post! The picture of you and Martha is perfect and your giant thing of stuff looks good too. Thats something coming from this strictly cheese-pizzatarian.

    I just love reading these, I love your stats especially the average inches you are taller than the spaniards. I miss you terribly but am thoroughly enjoying your adventures. Talk to you soon my girl. Love you!

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  2. Wow. That's quite a bowl of jambalaya! What was the result of it and the marinated meat? Did your Spanish family love it as much as I would?

    I love the stats. It sounds like it all adds up to 1 amazing experience!

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  3. I am really enjoying your blog posts, Alicia-peach. Those innocent-looking shoes...we know what evil lurks on the feet of (wo)man. Glad Martha's got her mojo back. Love ya!
    Mom

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  4. Jess, that was actually a picture of paella that I had one day in the mountains (I didn't cook it). I just used the picture because of the comparison to the Martha picture. We are so alike. The jambalaya looks similar though...just a lot smaller! And my Spanish family loooovveedd the meat. Borja would probably marry it if he could. It was an all-around hit of a meal and I'm happy to be back in sync with M.S.

    Thanks for the comments everyone!

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