Pumpkin Pie Part 1: Failure

On Wednesday, I invited Stephanie (the other exchange student in Valencia) to my house to make pumpkin pies for our host families. I loved the idea of sharing a truly American tradition with my host family, and promised them that I am a good cook. Maybe this jinxed it or something because things definitely did not go as planned.

When I went to buy the ingredients, I ran into several obstacles. Since they don’t have pies in Spain, I could not find a pie pan or pre-made piecrust. The first was solved easily because after digging around in the kitchen, I found a quiche dish that was perfect. The piecrust, however, was more challenging. I decided to be “creative” and make a graham cracker crust, since we only had a couple of hours and making piecrust takes awhile. However, there are no graham crackers in Spain either. I ended up buying some little cookies that looked like Teddy Grahams. Once they’re crushed up it won’t matter right? Then I went looking for canned pumpkin, which also is nonexistent in Spain. Luckily, I found real calabaza dulce (sweet pumpkin) in the vegetable section and bought two. Pumpkin pie from real pumpkins- how perfect, right? When I tried to find cream or half and half, though, there was no such thing, so I ended up just buying whole milk. A few minor substitutions won't matter....

When we went to make the pie, we discovered my host family does not own a blender, so making the pumpkin puree and crushing up the cookies was significantly more difficult. We put the cookies in a bag and gave it to my host sister to whack around the kitchen. But the darn cookies would not break!! Seriously, they were indestructible. It took almost 45 minutes to crush them. I could’ve just made a regular piecrust in that time. Next we had to microwave and boil the pumpkin to soften it, and then use some sort of hand-cranked metal device to make the pumpkin puree. The maid told us it’s used to make mashed potatoes, so I figured it would be fine. Then we realized there aren’t any English measuring cups, so I had to estimate all the measurement. I must have messed up the estimations because the filling turned out extremely watery. We tried adding flour to thicken it since there isn’t cornstarch but it didn’t really solve the problem. Can you see where this is headed?

I seriously can’t describe, though, how much fun we had making this pie. Stephanie and I were laughing to the point of tears at many points that night, and I am so glad we did it, even if the pie turned out a disaster. Let’s just say we spent over three hours trying to make a pumpkin pie that turned out with a crust burned to a blackened crisp, and a completely liquid filling with bits of flour floating up the top. Yummy.

Here are some pictures from the night. Stay tuned for Pumpkin Pie Part 2: Success!


Stephanie and I in the kitchen

Stephanie, Mamen (our wonderful maid, who's really more like family), and Paula

Softening the pumpkin in the microwave

Pumpkin puree

The pie...epic fail

5 Good Things

Here’s a quick update on five good things about the week!

1. Last night I saw Harry Potter!!

I went with Emma, a girl in the grade below me who’s from Ohio but has lived in Spain for four years due to her parents’ jobs. I met Emma my first day here, but since she’s not in my grade we don’t have any classes together. However, I happened to see on her Facebook that she liked Harry Potter, so I asked if we could go together. It was so great to speak English for the night and hang out with her!! Plus, Harry Potter was completely amazing, even in Spanish.

2. They turned the heat on in my house and my school!!!

I feel like such a wimp, but I have definitely gotten used to the weather. It is 12 degrees Celsius (52 Fahrenheit), but it feels like it’s freezing! Everyone in school was bundled up in scarves and coats until they finally turned the heat on this week. Luckily, I sit right by the radiator. Plus, my host dad finally decided to turn the heat on in the house as well. The rest of the family had been begging him to do it for weeks, and he finally gave in. Before my host mom mentioned it, I wasn’t even sure if we had heat in the house. But it turns out we do, and the radiator in my room is keeping it nice and toasty.

3. I actually contributed at a Rotaract meeting!

I enjoy going to my Rotaract club on Fridays, but I never feel like I really do anything. Mostly I sit and listen as they make plans for food drives, charity benefits, and other such things. But on Friday I actually contributed. I volunteered to make the poster for a food drive that we're organizing for a local school, and I also suggested we make the food collection a competition between the classes. Everyone loved that idea, and it felt nice to finally be participating in the club. I've yet to meet my actual Rotary club that's sponsoring me, but hopefully that will happen soon.

4. Mika is coming on Friday!

My host parents offered to have Mika stay for a weekend in Valencia, so of course I took them up on it. Mika is coming Friday afternoon and staying through Sunday, and we’re going to try to make a “Thanksgiving” meal for my host family. More on that to come!

5. My Spanish is definitely coming along.

I can pretty much say what I want to say in Spanish now, and can understand everything as long as I pay attention. This is very good news. After Mika leaves, I’m planning on going on a no-Skype no-Facebook no-email purge until Christmas with the hope that the complete lack of English will help my Spanish really start to click.

Hasta luego!

Besitos,
Paige

Oranges, Other News, and Harry Potter

Orange season has officially arrived. If you didn’t know, Valencia grows only two things: oranges and rice. If you see a field, it’s a rice field, and if you see a tree, it’s an orange tree. Even the trees lining the streets in the city are orange trees, although it’s not recommended to actually eat those oranges. But anyway, I arrived home last week from flamenco to find the kitchen absolutely overflowing with oranges. There were oranges in the fridge, on the counter, and in the cupboards. We will literally be eating oranges for months.

Right now, the oranges are extremely acidic. Borderline lemon, I would say. My host mom loves them this way; the rest of us cover them in honey so we don’t die. My host dad promised the really incredible oranges would come in December, so I’m excited for that.

In other news, I went out with my friends this weekend to a really cool Hawaiian themed juice bar to celebrate Rebeca’s birthday. I had a splitting headache at the beginning of the night, so decided to just order a banana smoothie. But of course, because it’s me, I ended up throwing it all up on the sidewalk when we left. I’m assuming it was a combination of the headache and possibly food poisoning because I haven’t felt that sick in a long time. I was so embarrassed to throw up in front of all my friends, but they were all really sweet about it, and I got about a million messages the next day asking if I was feeling better.

A word about this picture: A) Patricia (left) cannot keep her eyes open with flash. We took about 15 pictures and this was the best one. She may look like she's on drugs, but I assure you, it's just the flash. B) The large lines across the photo are reaaaally long straws. They were cool. C) Nobody in Spain smiles in their photos. It kind of bugs me. They all try to look all cool and serious, but I prefer a smile any day.

And finally…this weekend I’m going to HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS!!! I’m very excited, if you couldn’t tell. However, nobody here seems to like Harry Potter. I’ve asked and asked, and apparently it’s something extremely dorky. I mean, in the U.S. it may be dorky as well, but we embrace it. I was trying to explain at dinner last night how fanatic people can get about Harry Potter in the U.S., but my host parents did not get it. My host dad said, “Even people who are 18 years old like it? It’s more of a thing for younger kids here.” I tried to explain that yes, many college kids love Harry Potter, and even many adults, but I don’t think they believed me. Oh well.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll try and post again this weekend.

Besitos!
Paige

I just had to show you this...

Is this not the cutest snack you've ever seen?? It's a cookie shaped like a hippo, and filled with chocolate mousse. I feel like it just doesn't get any better than that. Yes, I did take 4 pictures of it....

"What does awkward mean?"

You’re in luck, it’s a double-post day.

Seeing as the last post was a little more reflective, this one will be more…not reflective…?? Aaaand my English is officially deteriorating.

On Friday after school I went with David, Patricia, and Rebeca, to buy a present for Nuria’s birthday. We picked out a jacket and two shirts for Nuria and all split the cost. Afterwards we had McFlurry’s at McDonald’s (yes, I know I’m in Spain…I did not pick out the restaurant), and then I took the metro to a Rotaract meeting at 8:00. It was my second meeting, and I’m really enjoying it. Basically it’s Rotary for the “younger” crowd, and although I’m the youngest one there (most are in their twenties), none of them believed me when I told them I’m 18. At school, everyone thinks I’m 17, and at Rotaract, everyone thinks I’m 23. Interesting. Right now, the Rotaract club is planning their fundraiser to buy Christmas presents for underprivileged kids. It’s a very international club, consisting of, in addition to the Spanish members, a German, 2 Italians, a Brasilian, and a Venezuelan, who all found themselves living in Valencia for one reason or another. It’s a fun group, and definitely something I’m going to continue.

Last night, my friends from school and I all went out for Halloween, because lucky for Spain there’s no school on November 1st due to All Saint’s Day. We met at Miguel’s house to dress up in coordinating zombie costumes. All the girls wore black leggings and black shirts, and then we had fun semi-destroying XXL white t-shirts with scissors and fake blood, aka ketchup. Let’s just say we smelled rather….tomato-y all night. We all ate dinner together, and then went to the Plaza de la Virgin, which was absolutely packed with people. There were hundreds and hundreds of people there, and all my friends were worried I was going to get lost in the crowd. It got kind of funny after awhile because Rebeca and Patricia took turns holding onto my arm. “Who has Paige? Who has Paige?” “She’s right here, with me!” “Okay good!” Haha. I think the highlight of my night, though, was this conversation with Nuria (it was in Spanish, obviously):

Nuria: Do you have grammar classes in high school in the U.S.?

Me: Not the same way you have them here. We have “English” classes, but it’s more literature and writing based than learning the actual structure of the language….Why are you smiling?

Nuria: It’s just that…your Spanish…is really good, Paige. I was thinking back to when you first got here. It was really awful then.

Me (by now I’m not thrown off by Nuria’s bluntness): Thanks, Nuria.

Nuria: Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you- what does the word “awkward’ mean in English.

Me: Haha that’s a good question! Awkward…it’s like….if you’re with a group of people you don’t really know, and no one can think of anything to say and you’re just sitting there staring at each other in complete silence. That’s an awkward situation.

Nuria: Okay….

Me: Okay, that was a bad example. Awkward is….it’s when…umm…let me think on it Nuria. I’ll let you know when I have a good definition.

Nuria: Say something in English

Me (in English): Right now we’re sitting at the bus stop waiting for your parents to pick us up.

Nuria: Ahhh…it’s so pretty. I want to be able to speak English with your accent, Paige.

Me: No you don’t Nuria. Get a British accent, not a Midwestern one.





Okay, well, I hope you found that a little entertaining. I’m going to go to bed now and mentally prepare for new week. And a new month as well! Here’s to a great November!

Besitos,

Paige

Personality

This week was a good week, for the most part. I must admit though, I’m definitely out of the “honeymoon” stage of my exchange, with all of the “oh-wow-isn’t-this-great-everything-is-new-and-different” that goes along with it. I’m now at the point where certain differences are starting to bother me, where I’m getting impatient waiting for the language to really ‘click,’ and where I sometimes just want to curl up in my own bed in my own house with a good old Harry Potter book.


(Nocilla: Spain's version of Nutella. So delicious!!)

I had a long conversation about this a couple days ago (via Facebook) with Mariah Hennen, the exchange student from my district in the U.S. who is in Poland this year. I love Mariah. We both say it’s a lucky thing that Spain and Poland were in the same country group at the orientations. I remember at the first orientation in January, Mariah happened to be sitting next to me when all the outbounds were in a room waiting for a presentation on something. We all were talking while we waited, and I remember at some point our conversation went something like this:

Mariah: My parents keep saying things like “when you’re in another family’s home, you can’t leave your room a mess like this.”

Me: Me too!!! My mom says that all the time, and I’m getting so sick of it! Hey, what country are you going to?

Mariah: Poland. Where are you going?

Me: Spain

Mariah: Haha, we’ll probably see a lot of each other, because Spain and Poland are in the same country group for the orientations.

Me: Really? How random is that! Yup, look the sheet says “Spain, Italy, and…Poland.”

Anyway, I always love talking to Mariah, but I especially loved talking to her the other day because we got to discuss a lot of the same things we’re going through. We talked about how one of the hardest things right now is the fact that at this point, no one truly knows who you are.

I don’t mean that in a dramatic “no one understands me!” way, but the fact is simply that although I have great friends here who talk to me, and invite me out all the time, they really don’t have any idea who I am as a person. I feel like if someone here were asked to describe my personality, they would have no idea what to say. Okay…that sounds like I have no personality in Spain, which isn’t true, but hopefully you have some idea what I’m saying here.

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(My favorite cheese and the bottle of olive oil that is never empty)

Without fully being comfortable here yet, and without fully having the language to be able to express yourself, it’s difficult to let your true personality show. I’m a talker, I’m assertive, I’m awful with directions, I love telling stories, I over analyze things people say to me, I’m sometimes very selfish, I’m a hard worker, I love to laugh, I almost never cry in front of people, I sing loudly when no one's around, I’m extremely indecisive, and I’m very independent. Whew. Okay, well, now that’s that’s all out, I think I’ll wrap up this already lengthy post. And then maybe I’ll write another one about what has actually been going on this week in Spain.

Besitos!

Paige