Not living in the States makes me just that much more eager to celebrate our traditions and share them with people here. So when my mom gave me an Easter egg coloring kit before I left for Spain last time, I was very excited. It only seemed natural to share the experience my friend Heather, who is also from the States. Then I figured that it might be just a bit more fun with kids involved (well, and how would Heather and I hide and find the Easter eggs with just two of us!?).


So today we went over to Jacobo’s sister’s house where a slew of family and neighborhood children would join us. Before we could do so though, we went on a massive hunt trying to find white eggs – in fact when Jacobo called one of the biggest grocery store here asking if they had white versus brown eggs, they actually hung up on him thinking that he was playing a joke. So, two lessons learned – 1) apparently white eggs are not very common here and 2) brown eggs, while not ideal, suffice.


After a nice lunch of a delicious beef stew that Jacobo had made, we began the egg decorating. The kids were of course in heaven, begging for “las inglesas,” or the English women (they were close enough right?), to show them how to decorate the eggs. We decorated 18 eggs….well, we thought it was 18. When we were finishing up with the egg decorating, one of the kids brought Heather and me a couple more eggs. We thought we’d just missed them, so we proceeded to decorate them as we did with the others. So, make that 20 eggs.


Later, we hid all the eggs outside and the kids eagerly went in search of them (unfortunately we didn’t have any baskets, so plastic bags had to suffice). All the kids were proudly showing off their bags of eggs when we noticed that one of the little girls seemed to have a bag full of liquid. Apparently she had a raw egg. We’re not sure exactly how or where she managed to find those two extra raw eggs, but it sure was funny. Smart kids.


We all had such a good time that we’ve already decided that we’ll be doing it again next year….but with more eggs, make that white eggs, and baskets.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me. I spent a good portion of my time in the Bay Area running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get all the darn visa stuff taken care of. And yes, in case you weren’t certain, and because I know you were all wondering, I am officially not a drug addict, mentally insane, or a felon…these are all things I had to have verified in order to obtain my visa from the Spanish Consulate in San Francisco.


The trip home was wonderful though, as usual of course. I OD’ed on sushi and Vietnamese spring rolls, which was really the only smart and logical thing to do. On Friday, my colleague at work in Madrid suggested sushi, which basically horrified me – considering I was burnt out on yummy SF sushi, the thought of Madrid wannabe (fairly positive I haven’t used that word since the early 90s) sushi basically sounded like a crime. We went to my favorite California cuisine restaurant instead….ironic, I know.


Arriving back to Madrid is always bittersweet, and this last time was no different. It definitely helped though that the weather here has been just insanely wonderful. Better than in CA for sure. We spent last weekend roaming through Retiro Park (something we love to do rain, shine or snow), and even took a day trip about an hour out of Madrid yesterday with a group of people to a darling little pueblo nestled up against a lake. It was there that we had a traditional lunch in a rustic little cabin-like restaurant right on the lake. What a treat!


Now it’s back to work again, and back to trying to finish up all the visa stuff. I am about 95% of the way there, but there are still some last things that need to be done here. But, I am at least legal at this point! My days of rebellion are over. Shoot, I am even driving legally now (with my fancy AAA international driver’s permit) – this is no fun!


I have to end this blog on a somber note – while I was home I learned of the sudden passing of a dear friend named Katie Marsh. I worked with Katie at Perfect Petals (a family friend’s flower business where I learned pretty much everything I know about flowers), where Katie was the boutinierre/corsage guru. I simply can’t think of a memory of Katie in which she wasn’t smiling or laughing. She was just such a happy, joyful person to be around. She leaves behind two sons, one of which is exactly my age – Katie and I always used to chuckle about how I literally stole her son’s birthday because my mom took the hospital appointment for my delivery that Katie wanted for her delivery – thus her son was born the morning after me. Katie and her sunny spirit will be very missed.

Thanksgiving Thursday came and went – it was so weird to spend the day just like any other day. I was a bit sad about it so Jacob met me for lunch and we decided to go to the local California cuisine restaurant – and sure enough they had a special Thanksgiving menu! It absolutely made my day!


While I was unable to properly celebrate Thanksgiving on the actual day, I had made plans to have people over on Saturday so that I could introduce the holiday to all of our friends here. We were expecting 10 people to come over and share in the special holiday.


And guess what, I did it! I can officially say that I’ve made Thanksgiving dinner. Jacob and I managed to pull off making a gigantic turkey (22 pounds/10 kilos!!), stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie and gingerbread cookies. I would have done cranberry sauce, but believe it or not, cranberries are yet another one of those things that are impossible to find here – cranberries and blueberries actually have the exact same name in Spanish, as if they taste remotely the same!!? And sage, apparently they don’t do sage here either. Someone remind me to buy some when I come home for the holidays.


The craziness began Friday night when I decided I would first conquer the desserts – pie and cookies. I had brought ingredients from the States for both, so they were super easy. Desserts – done.


Saturday morning we began with the stuffing (no, I wasn’t adventurous enough to actually stuff the turkey). I had to do without the sage, but made do with other herbs. With the stuffing done, we moved onto the mashed potatoes. We peeled and diced them and then made a quick run to Starbucks and the gym to take a break.


We returned from the gym to get the turkey started and finish off the potatoes. The turkey was just plain huge, any bigger and it wouldn’t have fit in the oven. Covered in oil, herbs and spices, we managed to squeeze it into the oven. At which time we finished up the garlic mashed potatoes, and then just waited for guests to arrive. And by the way – shame on me for not buying a turkey baster in the States – the only one I could find here cost 17.50 Euros!!! I swear I saw a package of two for $1.99 at Safeway before I left…I’m kicking myself now.


So the turkey took like 4+ hours – good thing Spaniards don’t mind eating late. I don’t think we were eating until probably 11:00. Before everything was ready though, I had to make the gravy, which ended up being the most difficult thing of all. Our kitchen is a bit small (I think it’s about the size of my closet in SF…OK, maybe a little bigger, but not by much!) so between Jacob trying to acquaint himself with the turkey, and me trying to figure out how the heck to make gravy, it just got messy (literally and figuratively). I won’t go into the details, but let’s just say that all’s well that ends well! Every last thing turned out perfectly – even the gravy! And while last night the kitchen was a disaster zone of turkey juice and flower, this morning it is finally clean and completely sanitized (I hope!).


And now my friends I have to go to Bucharest, so I can’t even enjoy the massive amount of turkey leftovers . It was as good as a Thanksgiving could get though given that I am so far from home. Everyone here loved the food so much and is anxious to do it all again. I am glad that I could share such a special holiday with such great people in such an amazing place.


I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. Just a couple more weeks and I’ll be home again for the holidays – can’t wait!

Another week gone by here in Madrid – this week was all about recovery from the last couple of weeks which were jam packed with stuff. It was still quite busy though. Each night during the week I had to head off somewhere, which meant a lot of time with my new car and a lot of time getting more used to the crazy driving in Madrid. Thank goodness I have GPS on my BlackBerry, otherwise I would never make it anywhere (and would have quite possibly hit a few things and/or a few people – knock on wood).


Saturday was a busy day full of running errands. I actually managed to find an American hairdresser here that is from San Francisco. I trekked to her salon and managed to get yelled at by some crazy drug addict because my car door was open for about five seconds and apparently in the way of her needed 20 feet of sidewalk space to meander back and forth – good news is that my trusty boyfriend has taught me my fighting words, so I didn’t take the crazy woman’s words without giving her a piece of my mind too. Don’t mess with me!


That aside, the trip to the hairdresser was a nice break as I had a chance to reminisce about home and commiserate about the trials of living in this new city (apparently finding brown sugar has been an obstacle for her too). Oh – and she referred me to American dentist…it’s these little things that get me excited!


Sunday was a beautiful day – probably about 75 degrees, with a San Francisco-like chill in the air. We started our day by going to a cata de quesos – a cheese tasting! Yep, we tasted a whole bunch of cheeses (with wine too!). It was delicious, although I think I may still be full.


After the cheese tasting we decided to head to Retiro Park to enjoy the beautiful weather. There is a lake in the middle of the park with boats for rent – a must-do in Madrid that I’ve somehow never done! So we got ourselves a boat and rowed around on the lake for a bit just enjoying the sun. It was a perfect way to enjoy the day.


Ah yes, and apparently Saturday night was day light savings time here in Spain, but Jacob and I had zero clue until today…thankfully our BlackBerries had updated for us and we were right on schedule all day yesterday and today. I must admit though that I am rather disappointed that I didn’t get to savor that extra hour. Too late now!


I have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me, but more to come on that later. Happy Halloween to everyone!

Wow, the last week has been a bit surreal! This last weekend was my birthday – Jacob wouldn’t let me in on pretty much any of the details regarding what had been planned…and I had a feeling that my pleas for a puppy would go unanswered (and rightfully so). But little did I know what he had in store for me.


On Thursday of last week, Jacobo told me that he would like to meet me at my work for lunch. I headed down all seven floors to meet him outside. When I approached him he seemed really nervous, telling me that he had to show me something, that even though it wasn’t my birthday, bla bla bla (it’s really all a blur)…then he turned my around, and my dear friend Kenny was standing there!!! Oh my gosh, I screamed and cried, and cried some more, all on this busy street in the middle of Madrid. I spent the entire lunch and the rest of the day nearly sick from the shock of the surprise. Apparently Jacobo had been planning it for months, intricately coordinating to have Kenny fly out and blindside me completely! I have never been so pleasantly surprised in my life!


As if that weren’t enough, really! The weekend rolls around and I am expecting nothing special expect for dinner on Saturday night…I did start to suspect something was in the works, but couldn’t quite figure it out. I decided that it must just be a dinner with more people than I expected, and that that would be it. There was something fishy about it all though. We ended up driving by Jacobo’s sister’s house, and somehow we just had to go inside. I was onto them at that point – not really knowing what to expect, but knowing that something was up. We got into the house and his sister gave me a healthy shove into the living room at which time a group of probably 25 people screamed “sorpresa!!!”


Nope, that wasn’t on my radar at all. A dinner with the family and a couple friends, sure, but all of these wonderful, generous people came just to wish me a happy birthday and make me feel at home because they knew it would be my first birthday here and away from the States. Jacobo’s sister, with the help of others, so generously coordinated and hosted the whole thing – his family continues to make me feel like this is my home away from home.


On top of everything else, here I am an ocean away and so many of my friends and family have called and/or sent emails, cards and packages, all making me feel so close even though I am so far away. What could have been a very lonely day was really one of the most special days ever. Oh, and they even threw a parade for me here in Madrid!! Ummm, ok, it wasn’t actually for me, but you know that guy, what’s his name – Christopher Columbus, that’s right, he made his little discovery a few years back and as a result the 12th of October is Spain Day. Lucky ol’ me gets my exact birthday off every year, no matter the day of the week . Not too shabby!


My friend Kenny will be here until this Friday, and then that same day, Jacob and I fly to Rome. I know, my life is way, way too rough, it’s quite ridiculous actually. Jacobo has to work in Rome next week, so we are flying out early to enjoy the city. So, until next week, ciao!!!