Team Kebap! From left to right, Una, me and Nico with Alesia in the back. (or Russian Gridiron, Sunny Sprinkles, Grandmother Willow and Cookie Cutter) These guys are the fiercest Kebappers I know.
Kebap. “Obscure meat product in pita bread, accompanied by salad and chilli,” according to urbandictionary.com. I like their other definition, “Hungarian fast food usually served with french fries.” Kebap day is Wednesday. This week it couldn’t have come any sooner. We even got nicknames today. Mine is Sunny Sprinkles. (Thanks Una.) We also have Cookie Cutter, Grandmother Willow and Russian Gridiron. This is the best club ever.
It took a lot of work, a lot of kebaps that I had to eat, but I am going on my second week on the team and I’m loving every moment. (If you’d like to join, you can be an honorary member. You just have to sing the Kebap anthem and eat Kebap at least once a week. For more details contact me on Facebook or by email).
Class, class and more class
Earlier that morning, I had another class with Helena. Pilates. My abs will never be the same. As I walk to school, I keep reminding myself to walk with better posture. If you just picture yourself walking really tall or try to smell the flowers on the trees as you walk by, you will do just fine.
After a lively discussion about English grammer in a Spanish grammer class, we needed a break so that’s where the Kebap came in.
This is Kebap. If you've never had one before, you need to go get yourself some Kebap. Trust me, it's worth it.
After Kebap, I got to play with Gonzalo, the four-year old. We played cowboys and indians and read books about “Nacho,” a little boy who likes to eat breakfast and brush his teeth. We’ve read this book a few times, and every time we read the part about Nacho brushing his teeth, little Gonzalo has to run to the bathroom to show me his toothbrush. We also played wtih Pokemon cards. Gonzalo wins every time. I’m not sure how that happens. Is it because he’s really good at card games, or because I don’t understand Pokemon? We finished up our “English lesson,” by playing with a soccer ball in the hallway. He kept yelling, “Goal! Goal!” every time he got the ball past me, which happened alot. Someday I think Gonzalo will be a soccer player.
Later tonight, in my English class with the labor union, we learned how to order in a restaurant, and I realized how completely different it is to be a server in the United States and a server here in Spain. Here a tip is optional because servers are paid on a salary set by the government. Well, in the U.S. I wouldn’t think too highly of someone who left me less than a 20 percent tip. At least they know the norm for the states, just in case they ever get me as a server. Anyway, I got to act out the part for the server, while they were the guests. Everything was going well, until David pointed out that I “forgot” to bring their dessert. “Oops, right away, right away,” I said. He laughed and said remembering the dessert is important if I want to get a good tip. They learn so quickly.
This tweeting bird, from Twitter, is more effective when he's direct. He's talking directly to the consumer.
Get to the point!
While I was searching for makeup at a local shop (I only went to this shop because they were handing out coupons for a free gift) I decided I needed help so I asked Dori if she could help me find the right color of foundation and blush (after I told her I am from the states and to please have patience with my Spanish). When I showed her the makeup I normally used, she was very blunt.
“Me parece más bonita así,” Dori repeated several times while testing out the store’s makeup. (You look much prettier like this.) Hey, I did buy the makeup and will probably go back if I need anything else. Maybe there is something to be said about being direct. If people communicated more directly, maybe marketing would be more effective.
My host mom is the same sometimes.
“Pero, no piensas que comes demasiado chocolate?” my host mom said when I asked her how to make a chocolate cake/cookie recipie to take with me to a Bible fellowship. (But, don’t you think you eat too much chocolate?) She thought I was making the cake for myself. Suffice it to say, I’ve been cutting down on chocolate since then.
At the moment, I am heading to a café to finish making plans to go to Italy or Barcelona in two weeks. Ciao! Look out for another exciting blogpost tomorrow. In the meantime…try some Kebap.
life in alcalá 