Scraps of Turkish and Greek

Here is what I recollect learning from Turkey / Greece.

Let it be known that at one point in time, yes, I was able to ask someone in Turkey A) how much (the giant pretzel) cost and B) where is the bathroom, and solicit an actual response. Possibly out of pity, but we'll never know. 99% sure it's because I sounded that good.

Also, I'm writing the phrases phonetically, how I best remember them. They are probably not very accurate, but I would rather be honest than come off as some pretentious worldly douche who knows aaaaaalll the languages. If I did that I would probably have to start dressing in pink shorts and boat shoes, which I don't think I'd be able to pull off.

Turkish:

Thank you: tekkshem edereem
Thank you: sao
Where is the toilet?: tuvalet naredeen?

Greek:

Thank you: ehfaristo

Phrases in Portugese

Portugese is adorably similar and at the same time not so similar to Spanish. Here are some of the phrases I learned while spending the 4 day weekend there:

Vamos = Vamoosh ( my favorite! )
Bonita = Bonitish! 
Buenos dia = Bon dia
Bueno tarde = Bon tarde
Bueno noche = Bon noche
Gracias = Obligado 
Amigos = Amigish

Travelling has allowed me to start collecting handfuls of phrases from all sorts of languages. I'm sad I didn't write them down earlier, because already I've forgotten what I learned in Turkish/Greek. At least Italian was easy. I didn't expect Italian to actually sound like something out of a Chef Boyarde commercial. Which isn't offensive because literally, if you jokingly say things like "mmmmMMMMmm pastArIAaA!!" or "pIzZarIA!" people will actually think you're talking to them. Guess how I know this.

Maybe I will go back and relearn those old phrases and record them on my blog. I mean, every collection needs some sort of shelf.  Or in the case of my primary childhood collection (Beanie Babies ftw!!!), a nice giant cardboard..box? 

Trying Madrid

Julie and I decided to do Madrid during a 7 hour layover on our way back from Portugal. It just sounded so feasible in the comfort of our stupid, overconfident minds while we were planning our 4 day weekend trip. We just knew we would Make it Work, which of course, we did.

But it definitely wasn't the easiest thing.

In all honesty, my over-all opinion of Madrid is okay. I don't hate Madrid, but I'm not in love with it, either. There may be a few reasons for this:

1. The context: I'm entering this city for the first time after 2 hours of sleep and a 2 hour airplane flight.
2. Time: We didn't have enough time (or energy) to really see the sites we were supposed to see. Oops.
3. I have a fierce pride for Córdoba and Andaluz in general. I think I just prefer the more rural look as opposed to the modern posh scene that Madrid has. Without a doubt, Madrid is beautiful too. It's just beautiful in a posh, Upper West Side Meets Paris kind of way, whereas Andaluz is more unique. I think Julie said it best though: Madrid is like a good book, but (Andaluz) is like a good poem. It just depends on your preference, I think. No doubt if we had more time in Madrid though we would have been able to discover more. And I bet the night life there is amazing.

Anyways, here are some pictures of me and Julie trying to do Madrid. I don't know if I will get a chance to go back. In retrospect, I realized we definitely did not see the most important sites. Not even close. At least the company was good; there isn't anyone else I could have pulled this off with.

So, Madrid, I'm sorry for not giving you your due time. We tried, we really did.

That Time I Went to a Reggae Concert

Travels have the potential for a lot of firsts. Portugal brought me my first ever reggae concert, and it was awesome.

Julie and I will remisce years (or weeks) ((or days)) later, and say

Remember that time our host in Portugal invited us to his reggae concert where he and his friend were opening for the band and even though they were playing really early when the venue wasn't full we still danced like fools and moved around the entire room, swaying to the beat and spinning like in a trance, and we weren't squished or covered in sweat, and it was lovely and liberating and enchanting and mesmerizing, and then we got to see the main band sing and play instruments live? 

That was pretty cool.

Our friends!

The headlining band

Portugese Love

Upon arriving to Portugal, Julie and I knew we were going to be hosted by a 25 year old guy named Tiago. What we didn't know was that we were going to be housed with his parents, and automatically become adopted into the family. What I didn't know was that I would once again meet some of the kindest people this world has to offer.

Tiago's family runs a small restaurant in Seixal, which is a small town across the water from Lisboa. It isn't an urban city, despite being so close to Lisboa. On our first two days, Tiago had work during the day, so we were picked up by Tiago's parents and driven straight to the restaurant. There, his parents made us sandwiches and coffee, and packed us extra food to take to the city. After eating we would be driven to the ferry. Tiago picked us up every night at the ferry when we wanted to return from Lisboa.

Me and Julie's morning sandwiches and coffee

We never could have expected so much. The family gave us all of this, and so much more.

Dinners were eating custom meals at the restaurant, or home cooked dishes from Tiago himself. At night we got to meet a lot of Tiago's lovely friends. I can say I went to an actual reggae concert now thanks to Tiago. And without speaking a word of english, our Portugese family still communicated and interacted with us in the most friendly way you can imagine. Kindness trumps language barriers.

On our last day, Julie and I got to explore Seixal with Tiago. It was an experience I would've missed had I stuck with the traditional, tourist-methodology. Tiago spent his entire Saturday driving us to his favorite beaches and scenic spots. It let me see just how beautiful Portugal can be beyond the usual images you see in commercials. Looking back, it would have been such a tragedy if I had missed those sights. Seixal is a breathtaking place.

Exploring a hidden cave in Seixal

Time and time again, I am stunned by the capacity humans have for love and kindness. I do not know what I could have done to deserve meeting such beautiful people, I just know that there is no possible way I could ever convey all the gratitude I feel.

Being greeted to hugs and kisses from this enthusiastic dog every time we entered the house was the best way to come home

Tiago cooking dinner for us

Home cooked dinner, equipped with the greatest sangria I've ever had. And I'm studying in Spain!

You know what gets me the most, though? After all of this, the family treats us with such excitement and joy, as if they are equally happy just to know us. I mentioned how they don't even speak english, right? 

On Friday morning, I was about to take a picture of the kitchen when one of the family members noticed, and proceeded to take my iphone and excitedly gather the entire family for a photo shoot session. I never would have interrupted everyone's work to take pictures, but she legitimately seemed to be having so much fun taking the pictures (hence all the pictures earlier in the post). The only picture I regret not getting was of Papa Beard. This is the nickname I coined for Tiago's father because he is, literally, the human reincarnation of Papa Beard.

It's unfortunate that I didn't get a picture, but here is a close enough substitute. Imagine being fed and spending time with this fellow here. Wouldn't you also just completely fall in love? 

And then on our last morning, after Tiago refused to let us call a taxi and drove us to the airport at 6:00 AM, it was time for the good byes. Tiago grabbed us into a hug, and told us how he was so lucky to have us as guests, and that he feels so happy to have gotten to know us. 

...

At that moment, my heart was about to explode. 

I just hope Tiago makes his way to the U.S soon so I can attempt to try and reciprocate a fraction of what he has given me: all the delicious food, great sight-seeing, so many new friends and family members, and an absolutely, incredibly, ridiculously unforgettable experience. Portugal can stand alone for its beautiful beaches and vibrant scenery. But honestly, it is these precious interactions that leave the deepest imprints on your life. 

Tiago showing his mom the present he helped us pick out for her!

Delicious restaurant dinner: steak and mushrooms. All cooked by Tiago's mom

Tony suggested we try some famous Porto wine...best wine I've ever had.

More restaurant dinner and sangria

The ULTIMATE Make It Work

For dinner tonight, my madre made me my favorite salad but added cucumbers.

...

Lots

of 

cucumbers.

Cucumbers.

If you know me at all, you won't need any further explanation. But just for context, a bowl of cucumber is more horrifying to me than if I was presented with a bowl of worms/intestines/brains/maggots/poop/chicken fetuses. Combined. 

Let it be known that I actually tried. Which is a serious testament to how much I love my host mama. I actually ate about half of the cucumbers in my salad, using the "swallow pill" and "drown with water" strategy.  It was so painful. The taste, the contamination of my other beautiful vegetables...everything. If I had it my way, I wouldn't even have eaten any of the vegetables that touched the cucumbers because I can taste the cucumber on them. But I had to make it work. How you would feel if you were forced to eat a bowl of rotton fish vomit is how I feel when eating cucumbers. 

I couldn't finish.

Which is another serious testament to how much I hate cucumbers. 

I am a respectful eater. What do I mean by that? It's easier to explain in examples. For instance, I am a "vegetarian," but when our Istanbul couchsurf hosts made us an entire home-cooked dinner on our first night of meeting them, I didn't blink twice when I saw that the main entry was chicken. I ate that entry without a single word of complaint. Yes, I would have preferred not to have eaten the chicken if it were in my control. But I am not the type of person who could go out of her way to not eat something that was so generously made for her. And the idea of how uncomfortable that would have made our hosts feel makes me uncomfortable. It's just not how I was brought up. Or, when I went hiking with Will and some friends last week and Will's mom generously made "bocadillos" (sandwiches with chorizo or sausage)  for all of us. I would never bring myself to say "thanks, but no I can't eat these sandwiches you prepared for us kids who you never even met before because I am vegetarian." I am not saying that if you would do that that you're a bad person. People are vegetarian for a lot of reasons, a main one being religious. No judgement at all, I'm just talking about me personally. I've even eaten two pieces of  cucumber in middle school once I was visiting my grandparents in China just to make them happy.

But this was just too much. There were too many cucumbers in this salad. 

You have no idea how stressful this entire experience was. How hard I tried to get myself to finish all the cucumbers. How horrified I was at the idea of wasting the food. I didn't want my madre to think I didn't like her cooking, or that I'm a brat. I may sound like a complete nutso right now, but that is how much I hate seeming rude or ungrateful to elders. It's also just how much I love my host mama, because I know that when she adds extra vegetables in my salads it is because she just went grocery shopping and wants me to have the biggest, most complete salad possible. At one point, I was literally considering sneaking the  cucumbers into a napkin and then going outside to throw them away later. But I realized that if I didn't speak up then my madre would think I like cucumbers and keep giving them to me. 

Thank god my host mama had to get up for something and saw my cucumbers (after not being able to force down anymore cucumbers without literally having to throw up) in my bowl. She was so nice about it, of course. But still, I felt kind of bad. I'm just really glad my host mama was so nice about it. 

So okay, maybe making it work would entail that I either A) grew a pair and told my madre myself that I don't like cucumbers or B) ate all the cucumbers. But at least it worked out in the end. 

I'm going to stop this post now because even the idea of the cucumbers that are sitting in my stomach right now makes me feel kind of sick. 

Gran Hermano

Gran Hermano time is silencio time.

Imagine two 20-30-year-old mothers jumping, screaming, and singing during the opening credits of a television show. It's quite a sight, I promise you.

Gran Hermano is a reality show featuring a group of 20-something people living together in a house. The house has a "big brother" robot voice that tells them things (that I don't quite understand). And of course the majority of the group is young attractive and super hormonal Spaniards. One of the girls is from Córdoba! Apparently, we have something like it in the States, but I never even watched MTV before so I really wouldn't know (Am I the only kid who grew up on Disney Channel? Lizzie McGuire, anyone?) It's funny because the title, "Gran Hermano," or Big Brother, is named after the George Orville novel, who I actually have heard of because I read his book 1984. Clearly the point of this is that I was, and still am, the coolest kid on the block.

No, but this show is really funny because it is clearly the trashy reality tv show of Spain. And my two sisters Merchi and Ana love it. They silence the boys whenever it is on and refuse to talk to them until comercial time. I'm in the living room with them when it is on, but honestly I don't think I would like it even if it was in english. But it is the one show that the kids immediately shut up and surrender the remote control for. 

And even without spanish fluency, I see the exact same trashy reality tv drama that is mirrored in all the Kardashians-Go-Shopping-With-Teenage-Mothers-Who-Are-Obese shows we back in the States. Is it still considered a common ground if the common ground is cultural travesties?

Don't mistake me for hating, though. I love Gran Hermano now too, but more so because I like observing the viewers more than the silly people in the show.