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Published: July 15th 2010
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SPAIN WON THE 2010 WORLD CUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Madrid has been going crazy and I have never seen more red and yellow in my life! The players landed in Madrid and were welcomed by the king and queen of spain, they then took a 3 mile lap throughout the city on a huge open-air bus and were stalked by thousands of screaming (and crying) fans.
I was observing my right to take a siesta and woke up at 8 p.m. that night. I ran to the TV to see where the caravan was in relation to my house... they were only 3 minutes away in a plaza i know well. So, I threw on my jersey and shoes and shorts and followed three people who were running and decked out in Spain flags to where the bus was passing thru. (see picture)
Futbol/soccer in Spain is basically the national sport... they have basketball and tennis and formula 1, but none of those have the passionate fans and national following that soccer does here. Seeing Villa, Pique, Casillas, Puyol, Xavi, etc on the bus holding the gold world cup up high was actually really exciting for me too! I like watching
soccer, but it's not a religion in the US, but I have watched hours of these players on TV and seeing them in real life, cracking open beers was bomb!
second announcement---- I MADE PAELLA (kind of...) with rape, oysters, octopus, and shrimp!
Today I went to Parla for a special visit to the director of my internship's house. It was really nice to meet her family and they were really welcoming When i got there, I saw four different types of seafood on the counter...I love seafood. I knew that I was coming with the purpose of learning how to make paella (and to have a good time of course, but that's a given). So I was handed an apron (literally) and i put it on... later her husband told me it was a joke, hahah that's what I get for not wanting to be rude!
I think I can actually make paella now... although I really did little of the work. It was more of them doing it and explaining to me. They made sure my cocktail glass was always full and that I had tapas in front of me, how lucky am I!? I
did peel the shrimp and help with the clams though so technically i had about as much part in the making process as their 8 year old daughter 😊.
for those of you who are interested.... here's how you do it:
Olive oil---lots (when i asked how much, the answer was always mas (more)
sliced tomatoes(or canned sliced tomatoes) in the olive oil on medium heat
add chopped seafood (fish, clams, some add pork or chicken) cook 10 min
2 cups uncooked rice in the pan
add 5 cups clam broth water (what you boiled the clams in) and leave sit to boil for about 20 min
mash parsley (dried) with 5 cloves of garlic, and 2 pinches of saffron thread and add to the pan
stir on and off until the rice is done
EAT!
A lot of people put peas in it too for some more color and more veggies
Now it's off to bed for me (3 a.m. here).... I still haven't followed a normal sleeping pattern here because i generally don't have to wake up very early. It's also easier to talk to family and friends at this time because it's nighttime
in the US in the early morning hours here in Spain.
update on the internship- i turned in 12 pages of communications plans proposals in spanish today! It feels good to have something to show for the work I've been doing. We'll be looking over it and implementing it before I leave for the US in 13 days! I'll also continue with the blog and I will likely do thier december - may bulletin from the states as a favor and for more practice. Here's the bulletin that I made for this June- December (See attached file)
I can't believe it's already been 2 months here! I really feel like I have taken advantage of the time here though and have no regrets. I have been traveling a lot on the weekends and am headed to Barcelona this weekend to stay with the Solers - then Monday to Thursday I'm heading to London for a 3 night escape from Madrid (not that I need to escape 😉 ) more to come!
besos,
C
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