A day in The Pit and Celebrating Dunfee Day via Webcam

Yesterday was my Tenerife cousin, Mar´s birthday. To celebrate the whole family of kids, me, Ruben, Miguel, Pablo, Emilio, and of course the Birthday Girl, Mar (Eva, Mar´s sister, couldn’t go because she is too small) went to the Santa Cruz to this annual indoor carnival in a place called The Pit. The Pit is an indoor arena where different expeditions and events are held all year round, for example, through late December and January is always the carnival, other times there will be car shows, etc. The pit was filled with your ordinary carnival type rides, small and non-permanent, but fun when you are with the right group of people, and being with kids makes it more fun because for them everything is bigger and better and more exciting, so their enthusiasm kind of rubs off on you and you can enjoy yourself.

The place was okay, aside from the carnival rides, they had activities set up for the kids to participate that helped promote and teach ideas like recycling and nutrition, etc, etc.  I was a little jealous because some of the things would have been really cool to try, but I couldn’t partake in them lest I should look like a tard participating in activities designed for children half my size; for example, they had a miniature military course set up, and this blow up labyrinth where guys with whistles chased you around. I think for the future they should create a larger scale version. ; )

The coolest thing for me was that they  had a climbing wall and when you got to the top you got to use one of those rope glides to get down. That was fun and I think the kids were excited to see me take on such a feet. ; ) I saw some friends from school there too.

When we returned to the South, everyone went to Marysol´s house to celebrate Mar´s birthday, but I went home because I had a date with mis amigos Americanos!!! (Don’t shame me for skipping the party because it was the same group of people that I have been with the past four days in a row). After much hassle with web-cam problems, I FINALLY got to see my group of amazing pals to celebrate with them on my special annual day of the year. Of course they were full of questions about my experience thus far. I think this is all I have to say about that for right now because I am a little self conscious that some of them might be reading this blog right now, and you know how it is to be saying things about a person while they are listening, well, it is the same with typing in a blog, therefore, HELLO all Dunfee Day friends!!! Thank you so much for participating!! It made me SO happy to be able to talk to and see you, you reminded me of a little piece of my personality that I think I forget sometimes on Tenerife! I LOVE YOU ALL!!

After the webcam meeting event I went to the Farro to watch a comedy show with Anna. I didnt really want to go but she had gotten me a free ticket and felt obligated, plus I like to take every opportunity I can to go out with friends so I don’t get lonely. We had a good group of people, but I was so bored during the comedy acts because I didn’t understand much of anything and because I was bored, I wasnt paying much attention. However, in between the acts of three comedians, there was a band that played really good American songs that I knew, so that made things a little better. Then later, not to end the blog on a bad note but I accidentally wasted 7 Euros on a cocktail drink not knowing how much it was that was not even close to seven Euros good, and after that I was mad and very tired but didn’t feel like paying for a taxi, so decided to wait for the boys that we came with in the car, and they ended up staying until 4 am when finally the disco closed for the night. Nothing sucks more than waiting for someone in a disco. For as stylish as the Farro is, I always have a little bit of a bad time when I am there. Finally I got home to get some sleep, sweet sleep.

Tenerife Christmas

I woke up to a start this Christmas morning around  8 30 or so to the sound of ruffling paper downstairs, the same noise as I had fallen asleep to the night before. I was excited, I guess, but nothing compared to that feeling we used to have as kids waking up so early on Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought us while we were sleeping. Its still like that for Ruben because he still believes in Papa Noel. I rushed down the steps to find all the family gathered around the mountain of gifts waiting for me, Ruben anticipated to start tearing paper.

I opened the three gifts that I had: from my family I received Ralf Lauren perfume (perfume is about the only thing you can buy cheaper on Tenerife than anywhere else) which I knew I was getting, then they surprised me with a Lycra shirt for Sailing (LOVE this!!), its like a wet suit shirt, only not so thick. From Marta, our cleaning lady, I got a really nice white sweater. I was glad to see that for a well-off family, they dont spoil Ruben with excessive gifts. He got an adequate amount of things to be happy for, but not too much. What my host parents do about buying gifts for each other is that, well, they actually dont. They buy gifts for themselves and then wrap them and open them on Christmas morning to go along with the whole Papa Noel thing. Its not very traditional but their method has its logic, you always get what you want, but all the same I always enjoy a good surprise. I think what they do is surprise each other with what they buy themselves. For example, Christian bought himself one of those home cafe-making devices, because normally in the morning we drink this coffee powder Nescafe that you mix with hot milk. The Nescafe is made of real ground beans, I like it a lot and almost everyone here drinks it in their home, but its not REAL coffee, and Chris knows how my number one thing that I miss about America is COFFEE, and this is why I am so happy because I think he bought it mostly for me, because my host parents really aren’t big coffee drinkers.

We spent some time experimenting with the cafe maker, and about 4 cafes later we got ready to go back to Marysol´s house to eat last night´s leftovers for lunch with all the family again, and also to open the presents from the family. The family always chips in together to buy one gift for all of the kids, I got a much needed purse.

We ate lunch, then I played with the kids while the adults played cards. We played hangman, and futbol, then went for a walk on the beach at sunset. The family kids are so cute, I love them all. When the sun was down we came back to the house.

Though I miss the chaos of my traditional family Christmas, the white of the snow, the warmth of the fire, and the sweet aroma of real pine filling the house, Id say I had a pretty fair trade being here on Tenerife and a fairly fulfilling Christmas. 

La Noche Buena (Christmas Eve), Christmas Concerts, La Laguna, and the last week of School

Well today is Christmas Eve, or La Noche Buena, and it hardly feels like it. I helped Anna set up her Christmas tree in her ginormous house last weekend so that helped a bit with putting me in the Christmas spirit. A lot has happened since then that I havent written about and now I am sitting here straining my memory to remember what I did. It was a pretty busy week last week actually and I had no time to write, so now I will try to compensate with a readers digest version of my last week of school before vacation. I wish I had some Christmas music in the background to help lighten my mood; we started listening to it in the house about the first week of December and then last week it just stopped playing and now is the time that is most important to be listening to it, because after the 25th, everyone is so sick of hearing the same songs they are ready to regurgitate their huge Christmas feast.

So, last week, like I mentioned before, I helped Anna with decorating her Christmas tree. I got zapped by a cord of lights when I tried wrapping the end of aluminum ribbon around them in order to secure in. Smart, haha. We listened to familiar music that I knew the words to and ate chocolate and drank champagne. Small things that sound inferior, but altogether they put me in a great mood and I felt happy. I had ´happy eyes´.

Monday was a normal day of school, but then that night I got very sick and woke up at 2am and puked. Ugh. This is really serious for me because Ive puked a total of about 4 times in my life. I am blaming my sickness on this weird exotic fruit that Chris brought home for me to try, the name was something like Chikawiki or close to that and its skin is green and has shallow circular craters like a golf-ball only bigger and if you ever see do not, I repeat DO NOT try it out for taste; the inside is pale-ish green and it is ultra sweet and does not taste good and it had a ton of these big bean-ish pits that I think I accidentally ate and thats why I got sick. Everyone else was fine except for me and I was the only one that ate the fruit that night, Im positive I will never try one again in my life. The next few days I felt like shit.

I didnt throw up anymore but I skipped school Tuesday and didnt move from my bed because every-time time I twitched my stomach felt gross and I hardly had the energy to sit up anyway, so I just slept all day. It was an especially bad week to get sick too because I hate missing school the week before a long vacation because it ruins the anticipation and you are unable to make plans with friends at school for things you are going to do with your free time (since you dont do anything in class anyway and you are able to chat about such things). Wednesday I got lucky and school was canceled because their was a storm in from Africa and the Calima was supposed to be bad. Really I thought it was funny because all the weather did was rain alot, but no more than a day of heavy rain in North Eastern Ohio, its not like there was flooding or anything. I guess sometimes the calima comes with very rapid winds and other more dangerous conditions. I dont know but for me the day couldnt have been planned more perfectly because I got to stay home again and sleep all day to the sound of pattering rain. I was happy just because there was rain. So much rain. Oh, rain, how I love thee! Two days of rain and Tenerife is green, and lush, and beautiful. Me encanta.

Wednesday night I was to have my last singing practice before the concert Thursday night and I really wasnt feeling up to it but knew I had to go if I wanted to preform okay the next night (sing I am still to shy to practice singing around my family here! haha). It kind of sucked because I had no energy to begin with, then my teacher surprised me with having to practice on the stage with the microphone when I was still feeling unsure and not so confident about several high notes that I wanted to hit with my natural voice. Practicing with the microphone went okay, you get a whole new feeling just being on the stage, even with out an audience. Some kids from sailing school were there to practice for the concert too and heard me and all got excited and told me how good I did. I think I started a fan club amongst them, these kids are so cute, I love them all. I felt a little better after that, but still a little stressed about those high notes and still not up to par. I skipped my last lesson of Spanish class and went home early to rest oup for the big day tomorrow. Another thing I was mad about getting sick that week is that because the week before Anna had invited me to go with her to this big fiesta in the Laguna that Thursday night, because we had no class Friday. In  the Laguna, fiestas are always Thursday nights because the Laguna students dont have class or start class late Fridays, and then for Friday and Saturday they all migrate to the South to Fiesta at Santelmo and las Veronicas. Anyway, I had heard alot about these grand fiestas of La Laguna and was anticipated to find out for myself how cool they were, not to mention that this Thursday would be especially good, most all students wouldn’t have class that Friday.  What better a way to kick off the holidays. With all this anticipation, I was going to be seriously upset to miss out on all the fun because of a stupid illness.

Thursday morning I felt better but my stomach still wasnt ready to be digesting anything substantial, my past several meals had consitised of Coca-Cola. I guess it is a well known doctor recommendation here that if your stomach is aching,  you should drink Coke. Ironic? Isnt it that in America doctors disapprove of Coke and any stomach related sicknesses? I dont know, but it really helps.  So, feeling better, but not totally recovered, I wanted to go to school for my last day before vacation. Also sometimes it helps to take your mind off things if you are occupied instead of just sitting in bed feeling sorry for yourself. It worked. By the end of the school day I was starrving and ate my first meal since Monday night. I was feeling alot better.

Preparing for the concert I was so nervous because here I dont sing nearly as much as I do when I am at home with my family or just driving in my car singing along to the radio, so I was a little unsure about the condition of my voice, and since this would be the first time really that my host family would be listening to me sing, I wanted to impress them and do very well. When it came my turn to sing, I nailed it. I was so happy with myself afterwards. Sometimes I forget how much I love performing on the stage, the bright lights warming your face, illuminating just a few ghostly faces of the audience so you can feel that invisible presence watching your every move, all eyes on you. What a rush. The extra energy helped me hit those high notes and after the show everyone congratulated me and told me I did well.  I am positive that I impressed my host family. ; )

After the show Thursday night I was feeling great, so headed off to catch a bus to the North for the big Laguna Fiesta. Anna and I met up, and then with some of her friends we went to dance. It was amazing. It was like a movie. The discos were soo full you could hardly move. Because there arent so many discos there (but just as much of a crowd) its more people condensed into a smaller space. It was so much fun, the atmosphere, the crowd, the music, the energy, it was an experience. After a while it got a little annoying that you could barely dance because there was such a crowd, but there is really something great about the ambiance of La Laguna. Walking to the taxi stop at 5am, the streets were still flowing with people walking from disco to disco, having a drink, just hanging out.  It was a cultural experience.

Friday. Sleep. Recuperate. Practice with the band for Saturday night.

Singing with the band is really something incredible, (not to sound so overly optimistic about everything being so incredible, maybe I am jsut in an optimistic mood right now) but it was special for me because my teacher had chosen just one person to sing this solo and never in my life have I gotten to sing with an orchestra, so I was very appreciative of being able to do it. Its so hard to focus while singing with the band because you want to listen to and enjoy their wonderful sound but you have to be alert and prepared to sing. Also, I was a little nervous about messing up because if I sound bad, the whole band sounds bad, and my song was the last one, and its always best to end a show on a good note. In the end it went okay, but not like the other night when I got to sing solo. I think a few high notes were a little off, but they gave me a huge bouquet of flowers and a box of Ferrero Rochers (yumm!!) for singing! After the show I was approached by a producer who told me if I was interested in singing more to give him a call. Haha, I felt so cool too because I had a good sized group of people with me when he told me that and gave me his card. I was so excited, but I checked out the website, and I duno, it doesnt sound too promising.

Later that night Anna and I went out to dance at Santelmo. Javier, my salsa dancing partner was there. The rest of Saturday was a normal night at the Discos.

Right now the aroma of a hearty home cooked meal fills the house, anticipating the feast that awaits this evening. Later tonight I will go with my family to Marysol´s house to partake in the traditional Christmas Eve feast. I can´t wait because it will be special for me to be able to have dinner with a complete family of aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousings for once, something I am deprived of with my ´tiny´ family of six. I havent been together with a family like that since I was a little girl during vacation in New Jersey. Also I have yet to meet Teresa´s brother from Austurias who just flew in with his family the 22nd. I met his son, Rubens cousin and he is a doll, I can imagine the rest of the family is wonderful too; I love meeting new people. Since I just mentioned Austurias, I might add that I am soo excited because in the beginning of May my host family is taking me to visit there during the long weekend; we will stay in their summer house which is right next to their parents´. She has already bought the tickets!

Making friends with old ladies at Lunch

It was after a run the other day and I was hungry so I decided to grab some lunch at a nearby cafeteria where they make some mad good bocadillos and I have a good looking waiter friend who likes to hit on me. I placed my order and sat down alone (sigh, I get so lonely when I have to eat solo), my waiter friend was not working today. Sometimes when I am in public places by myself, I intentionally TRY to make my self noticed noticibly solo, that way if a friendly (but not creepy) stranger walks by alone seeming to be in need of company, we are but a perfect match. In a way its kind of like fishing. Only for people. And not to eat.

Im getting pretty good at it. Today I caught an old lady while waiting for my food at the cafeteria. She was walking alone with her cane and carrying a big antique looking red-plaid luggage bag. She was wearing those big, heavy earrings that make old ladies´ ear lobes droop to their shoulders when they wear them. I was sitting by myself at a table set for four and all the others were occupied, so it was pretty clear that she had limited options, but I snatched her eye contact and reeled her in. She asked me if she could sit and of course I said yes. Old people are my favorite because they can carry on a good conversation and you can learn alot from them; they always have interesting things to tell you  about their past, or good words of advice that you actually think about and use later in life.

She was from the northern part of Belgium and had come here for the winter months, like she does every year. Her husband isnt alive anymore and I felt kind of bad for her that she passes the holidays here on the islands without family and living alone, though she has friends here and can speak Spanish.

We talked about my exchange, she told me her granddaughter will be doing the same this coming year; then, we talked about fat people and how many chubby tourists there are and how in America its much worse and how we eat too much there and how we should eat and how its ironic because the food there is so bad and how much I am going to miss the incredible Spanish grub. We complained about the service being slow that day. Surely it was because my waiter friend was not working.

I finally got my bill and she her coffee and I went on my way with that good wholesome feeling that you get after you have been with old people. ; )

Running date with Oscar

Today before singing class, I went for a run as usual too pass the time in between school and class. Every day that I have class, I walk to Teresa’s office, change in her bathroom and go from there.

Now, in order to understand the complete irony of this blog entry, you have to know that a few months back Teresa was trying to set me up – or should I say ´introduce me to´ one of her friends. Yeah, one of her friends of 30 or something years. YIKES! Well, of course when she told me this, I was like WHoAAkay, ya know, no thanks, but in The States 18 year old girls normally dont date men who would be out playing cards with their fathers, thanks for the offer. She didn’t understand my reaction and suggested that I just give it a try, but I said, no way thats pushing my persona limits, not even considering how my parents would feel about me out with a guy who potentially uses Rogain when preparing for his dates. Apparently its not that abnormal here in Spain for girls to date men of a significantly greater age?? None of my friends at school have grandpa boyfriends that I am aware of.

Anyway, I start off for my Monday run, and when I turn the corner there is a group of three men, running exactly where I am at exactly my pace. They appear to be older than me, yet rather attractive (I couldn’t tell very well their ages at first because I didn’t want to be creepy and stare or imply any kind of interest). However, I did want to make an impression, because I recognized one of the guys from running another day (he was JUST in front of me after turning the exact same corner a different day, only he was solo, and when I tried to catch up with him I couldn’t); so I sped up to run in front of them, not that it was an uncomfortable pace for me (especially with the extra motivation) but just a little quicker than normal (the guy from the other day was being a good running partner and going at the speed of his company).

I was kind of waiting for them to say something to me or speed up a little to catch up because I was curious about their age and looks, since I had just gotten a quick glance earlier at the group of them, and because the last time I had seen ´that other guy´ running alone, I had gotten a good long look at his back end, and had been wondering the whole time about his face (that he had long brown hair *sigh*-the reason I could spot him so easily-made me especially curious).

Finally, they caught up to me and after running side by side with the group for a while with an awkward tension, I broke the ice.

 -´Hola.´  You never can tell which language is best to speak in around here. I was lucky, they were Spanish.

I got a good look at my mystery man from the other day. He was definitely older than me, he looked around thirty or so, but attractive still. I asked them how they were doing (a great question to ask someone during strenuous exercise), how long they were planning on running, if they run alot, you know, typical running small talk.

One drops out, he cant handle the speed. ; ) haha

Now its just me and the long haired brunette, the others have dropped behind. He asks me how many years I have been running. I tell him that in America I ran for four years on a track team. He tells me I seem like an American, but that I speak good Spanish. He asks me if I am here for vacation and I tell him no, that I am here for a year as a foreign exchange student; when he hears this, he says ´ohh, you are the one living with Teresa!´. 

My first impression is ´Whoa, this is crazy, and a little weird that he knows that about me,´ but then I remembered that almost every person in Spain somehow knows my host mother. She is a popular little lady. Curious as to how HE knows Teresa (this is not the first incident where I have met someone who knows her too) I ask him, and it turns out he works out at the same gym as her and that he actually works right above her office, the place where I go to change every day that I run. 

We introduce ourselves, and I was very excited and happy to have made a new running friend, but it was about my time to turn around. He invited me to run with him when I want, he goes the same time nearly every day, and I probably will, seeing as its much better to run with a companion than solo. His name is Oscar.

When I return to Teresa´s office, I tell her my story about my acquaintance with her friend with a lot of excitement, saying to her how ironic it was and that she really does know everyone. When she asked me what was his name, she says, ´Ohh, Oscar! He was the one I was going to introduce you to earlier!´.

My conclusions about the Oscar incident are that 1) 30 year old men are waaay to older for any 18 year old girl to date, but not too old to be good looking, and not too old to be running partners; and that 2) I’m pretty sure Oscar doesn’t need to use Rogain anytime soon.

Sailing with the Dolphins

Yesterday was almost a perfect day of sailing. Marie, my sailing mate for Saturdays, and I went out together like usual. The wind was perfect. On the way back someone spotted dolphins. The whole group of us, with our pack of eight or so little sail boats all stopped to have a look. At first there were just a few fins popping up here and there, but after waiting several minutes, a whole group of them were swimming in sync right in the center of out circle of prospecting sailboats. They showed off with a few jumps and then went on their way. It was so amazing, the closest Ive ever come to dolphins before was at Sea World when I was a kid.

 We hung around the area for a while after to catch a last glimpse at the remaining bobbing heads as they swam away and disappeared into the shadows of the sea.

Stealing bananas from old Ladies

The other day Los Christianos there was a festival being held by the Cultural Center (where I take my singing classes) to give the students an opportunity to share their ´talents´. Teresa, Ruben and I went to grab a snack at the concession stand.

´Ruben, que quieres?´ asks Teresa.

Ruben asks for chips.

´Y Sarah, que quieres?´

I browse a bit and I spy a ripe bundle of bananas. I know what I want.

´Yo quiero planchas.´

Plancha in Español means ´iron´. I had just asked to eat an iron. Its easy to mix up the two, bananas and irons that is. Their words in Spanish are very simular, banana is ´platano´, and iron is ´plancha´. Teresa explains that I an an exchange student and that I am learing Spanish. I giggle bashfully, but only a little embarrased because the lasy that owns the stand is like 90 and seems very sweet.

After embarrasing myself with my speach, it turns out the bananas are not for sale, but a snack that she brought for herself, but she more than willingly offers me one, and after refusing to accept money to pay for the fruit, she gives me another. I feel bad, but I accept the second so I dont seem rude because she is so enthused about these particular bananas, which came from the island Gomera.

I walk away a little ashamed and feeling like a dope, but DAMN, was that a good banana! I sincerely think it was the best banana I ever had eaten.  I want to show my greatest appreciation for the woman´s kindness and generosity, so on the way out we stopped to thank her because I wanted to tell her what a great banana it was. The next moment, she is handing me the entire bad of bananas to take home with me! I tell her no, I cant take all of her bananas, and that I just wanted to tell her how good they were. For the next ten minutes or so she entertains us with the history of the bananas on La Gomera, a brief overview of how they are grown and some recipes that you can make with the bananas. After that she gives me an article of a missing boy to read, because she wants me tobe careful when I go out at night, because she thinks that for a girl so pretty its dangerous being that men here are so agressive. haha. I have red cheeks again.

 In the end, we take the bundle of bananas because it is more polite to accept someone´s generosity than to refuse, even if it means stealing bananas from old ladies.

¿What are the Odds?!

I arrived at the Guagua station a little early the other day after school, so none of my compañeros had yet arrived. I was sitting quietly alone on the bench, reading over some Geografia notes to pass the time, until I was interrupted by a timid voice,

´Hola?´ asks the stranger politely.

I lift my eyes from my notes to find a pleasant looking young man of about 25 to 30 years of age standing before me. His skin was white and red, and you could tell it had been peeling from excessive exposure to the sun.

´Hablas Ingles?´ he asks me.

´Yes! I speak English!´ I respond with enthusiasm. I LOVE when people ask me for help here (especially when its in English), it makes me feel so smart and kind.

´Do you know where I can board for the bus going to Santa Cruz?´ he asks me. I thought I noticed something different about his accent, but I didn’t say anything, seeing as one phrase of speech is a little too speedy to go making assumptions about one´s accent.

´Sure, its the first bench just past this little hut here.´

He said something else and went on thanking me, though I was paying more attention to his speech than his words. His accent wasn’t English, it wasn’t Scottish, and it wasn’t Irish.
´Where are you from?´ I finally asked.
´Georgia,´ he says.

All the while I am hiding the emotional fiesta in my head, not only could I help this man with his question, but I had encountered my first American on Tenerife! (except for stupid Andrew, of course) 

´…and you?´

´Ohio.´
´Oh yeah? Where at in Ohio, I grew up and lived in PA.´
´North Eastern. Trumbull County.´´
´No kidding! So then you have heard of Sharon?´
Turns out he used to live about ten minutes from the border. He knew Kinsman! Most people from NE Ohio don’t even know Kinsman! The first American I meet had been living hardly fifteen minuted from my home!
Now he is living in Georgia and has a job in Flight Linguistics or Logistics or something, either way I dont know what it is, but it seems like an important job for responsible people. He was on the Islands for a 2 week vacation, and his Cruise ship had a stop in Tenerife. I guess when you are in the business that he is in you get a whole bunch of discounts, so for the whole two week trip he paid something like 350 bucks. Not bad, eh?
Somewhere along the conversation I ended up missing my bus, but I wasn’t paying enough attention to care (not that its a big deal, another bus comes every 20 minutes). Plus I was much too absorbed and interested in the lifestyle of this stranger. I guess he used to be into the culinary thing working for Cruise ships, then he changed to the flight thing, which I guess allows him more freedom in your travels, so he has been all over South America and other parts of the world.

Eventually, he had to go to catch his bus, so he said goodbye and left me his card. He told me to look him up in the phone book, his name will be there (only obviously you couldn’t call him because first of all he is on vacation now, and living in Georgia). But you should try to find him. His name is Scott Swallow. I think I might email him one day.
This guy has totally inspired me and made me rethink my life plan. What a great thing to work for Cruise ships and be able to travel while getting paid. I think ´get a job with a Cruise line´ is going on my agenda for after college.
What a life he must have. And with no better age to pursue it. If someone from Sharon can see the world, why not me?
Its a small world, after all.