Different Me

Things I now do since moving to Spain:

1. Eat Olives. Eww, I know. Before here, I would have run away and perhaps hid behind a couch. Olives are everywhere, in all shapes, colors and tastes. Olives have earned my love by slowly wearing down my resistance to them, showing up at all restaurants, bars, homes and even once at school. Thus I now (usually) enjoy them, but still refuse to put them on my pizza.

2. Try Everything, mainly food. This new habit is a result of all the free tapas I have consumed. Since tapas are given freely with a beverage purchase, why should I let this source of nutrition go to waste? So now I will eat everything at least one: fish, seafood, vegetables (how I came to love fried eggplant with honey). However... if it has eyes, I hesitate.

3. Teach: but that is an easy one since it is my job here. Or I should perhaps say that I hang out with my students all day and speak in English at them.  I still have much to learn though.

4. Different Idea of Cold: I grew up in Minnesota, land of the artic winds, book hockey, ice fishing and where we don't get snow days but cold days. But here in Almunecar, it is cold in the winter. Even though it rarely gets below 60 degrees F, it is a different type of cold. A wet humid cold. Brrr...

These birds can stand the Chicago bitter cold

5. Speak Spanish (or Spanglish). Suprise, suprise, I can communicate in Spanish now! You still have to speak slowly to me and there are days where my brain decides not to understand either language, but I can get around just fine. Just need to practice grammar!