Today is November 20, 2011…almost 3 months here in Vigo…wow!! Time has flown by…it’s Sunday and also Election Day here…beautiful sunny, windless 55 degree day. Once again, after a short walk, I’m sitting at a bar/restaurant overlooking the Ria or estuary of the town – really the lifeblood of Vigo because fishing, canning, and shipbuilding are the major industries here. And so gorgeous to look across at Cangas, with all of its red roofs, and out to sea where the Iles de Cites provide a mountainous backdrop for the Ria. Several small sailing boats are playing follow-the-leader as their sailors learn their art. I can even see the jutting out peninsula where I hiked with Cristina and Fernando a couple of weeks ago.
During the past couple of weeks I have had the privilege to participate in two very typical Galician activities….both instigated by my school. On Friday, November 11th, classes were stopped after 11:30 AM…although all students and teachers were reminded to report to their last class of the day at 2:00 PM for roll call! We had a “magosto” or chestnut roast in Gallego – there is no Castellano word for this, evidently. The assistant director roasted the nuts over a fire of charcoal at one end of the covered patio. Before you can roast them, each nut has to have a small piece of its shell removed so it doesn’t explode while roasting! They are put into cones of newspaper after they are roasted to hand out to everyone. I ate a few but have to admit that I prefer pecans!! Meanwhile, there were soccer (futbol) games going on continuously, one class was having a bake sale to raise money for its field trip to Barcelona, someone else was playing the guitar, etc. It was lots of fun and I had the chance to speak individually with many students who asked questions they would never ask in a group setting….more on that another time! The day reminded me of the Garza school wide picnics we had each fall and spring.
This past Friday, November 18th, the entire staff of the school was invited to attend a “cocido” at 3 PM. It was all arranged at a small local restaurant but we paid individually. Fortunately, one of the teachers I knew well was going and she lives near me so I had a ride in a car – a rare happening for me here! The meal began with typical tapas of small bites of tortilla espanola and croquetas stuffed with ham and Bechamel sauce – they could be a meal all by themselves!! Of course, red wine or beer accompanied everything. We eventually made our way to the table for the main course of “cocido”. “Cocido” literally means “boiled” which is what happens to the ingredients. It reminds me of our meals of corned beef, cabbage and potatoes all boiled together. However, “cocido” has cabbage and potatoes AND carrots, garbanzos and every part of a pig you can think of…yes, I tried pig’s ear and snout!! I’m definitely not into crunchy cartilage!! After all that food, they came for dessert orders…I had “natilla” which literally means “whipped cream” but is a very rich custard. I could only eat a few bites I was so full…coffee followed and then, liqueurs! There were two, one very similar to Kahlua and the other, to a White Russian. Since they both had coffee in them, I could actually sip a little without putting my head on the table for an immediate nap! By the way, the meal started at 3 PM and we left at 8 PM…just another typical Spanish meal!!
I also had the privilege last weekend of going out for two meals on Saturday, November 12th, which were both very interesting as well. My friends, Cristina and Fernando, invited me over to share their “comida” (midday meal) with them at their home. This was/is my first invitation into a home here. They live about 2 blocks from me on the top floor of their building with a wall of windows overlooking the Ria in their living/dining room. They both love to cook and made an exquisite meal of “chocos” (type of small squid), shrimp, vegetables, etc. in a rice dish accompanied by a large tossed salad. She made a flan for dessert! He picked a local wine to have with it as well. After being there about 2 1/2 hours and finishing my coffee, I said maybe I should be leaving and letting them rest because I knew she had had a cold the previous week. “Oh, no!” they said, some friends were coming by to have coffee who wanted to meet me…so I stayed and talked with their friends ( a doctor and his wife, who is a special education teacher) who were lots of fun! All of our discussions were in Spanish and I was sort of amazed that I could discuss politics, health systems, male/female differences, etc. in Spanish with Spanish people. I finally excused myself at 8 PM (another 5-6 hour meal!!) so I could go home and rest up a bit before my swim team meal that evening.
Before I knew it, it was 10PM and I was on my way to the swim team restaurant which was thankfully close by….we had 25 for dinner. I ended up sitting near some of the women I knew better and it was lots of fun…the evening even included passing an apple from one to the next by placing it under your chin…I thought the cute young guy next to me might die of mortification, but he survived! Next Sunday, Nov.27th, is our first meet – they published on email the events by age and I found out under the Spanish Masters system I am considered to be 60 (already!!) because that’s how old I’ll be next year and the season extends into next year. Quite a shock to see it in print for the first time !! Then, yesterday at practice, the coach was weighing us and noting it down – I asked her if there was no privacy here?! Good news was for my first weighing in 3months(after the “cocido”!), I was the same as when I left Texas. Yea for walking everywhere!!
I think that’s enough for one reading….don’t want to put y’all to sleep….but stay tuned for a report on my Thanksgiving dinner on Nov 26th at Cristina and Fernando’s where I’m cooking the turkey!! And, also the swim meet the next day….Ciao, ciao!
