Rainy Spain

Our Little Halloween Flower

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:20:00 +0000

I can't say that she enjoyed the experience as much as we did, but this is one cute little flower. Next year we just might venture off the front porch and do some trick-or-treating. It's hard for a 1-month old to gum candy corn...or to say trick-or-treat for that matter :)

A lot can happen in 9 months...

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:41:00 +0000

Moving back into the country, job hunting, positive pregnancy test, working 2 jobs plus tutoring, lesson planning, bills, will we ever have our own place to live, is it a he or a she...James or Nora?, snow turns to flowers turns to hot humid summer turns to colorful leaves falling from the trees, belly keeps growing, uncomfortable, Sergio is here for a month!, travelling to Charleston, Wilmington, Virginia, DC, the zoo, Sergio goes back to Madrid, got the teaching job at Enloe, things starting to come together, last name changes from Edwards to Tojo, Jose tutoring at NC State and private lessons, September 24 comes and goes, 41 weeks and counting, writing essays for NC TEACH application, more lesson planning, still working, Oct.3 4AM go to the hospital, Oct. 3 7AM sent home from the hospital, Oct. 3 7PM go back to hospital, Oct. 4 8:23 AM, 9 lbs 3 oz, 21.5 inches long...enters Nora Mar Tojo.

Indeed...a lot can happen in 9 months.

Big News!

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:33:00 +0000

Jose and I are pround to announce that around September 24th we will be "mamá y papá" :) Very exciting times. Not only did we bring the cats on the plane with us to the US, but, little did we know, we brought a little Tojo Edwards too.

Week One Stateside

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:05:00 +0000

It's been a pretty productive week back on this side of the Atlantic. The day we left Santiago it was snowing and when we got to Raleigh we were greeted with a winter wonderland.

Then once we got to my parents house we were greeted by my sister and 3 wonderful nieces and nephews who had decorated the house. Paco and Michu were oh so happy to finally get out of their carriers after being behind bars for almost 24 hours. They've adapted really well to their new abode and we've even let them explore the great outdoors a little bit.

This first week was dedicated to searching for the perfect car. As you all know, you can't do much in the "home of the free and the land of the brave" without a set of wheels. But after a long few days of searching and negotiating we took home our "new to us" Jeep Liberty!

Now that we have a car...the job search continues...

And the packing continues...

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:29:00 +0000

I've been absent from blog world for awhile, because I got lost in a pile of boxes and luggage. I never realized how much just two people could accumulate over the years in a small apartment. It's a lot. And over half of it is now shoved up into the attic. I actually fear that the ceiling might cave in on the apartment.

All I have to say is that this is not fun. I will be thrilled when we can sit down on a sofa in Raleigh, sip a Dr. Pepper and...well I can't say "for it to all be over", because it will be just the beginning, so I'll just say...see what life has in store for us there.

One of my favorite sayings in spanish is...poco a poco.

New Year, New Beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:37:00 +0000

These last couple of days have been full of food and family. Last night we rung in the new year quietly with family. We danced in the kitchen. We drank champagne with dinner instead of wine, lovely. We sent and received new years text messages to friends. We ate turrón and our 12 lucky grapes. We talked.

I'm very hopeful and excited about what 2009 has in store for Jose and I. New jobs, new home, new country, new life.

Christmas Letter

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:34:00 +0000

You all remember my post about Christmas Cards, right? Well for fun this year I joined the crowd and wrote a Christmas letter...just to try out some cool newsletter stuff that I came across, of course. Anyway, for those of you who I don't have an email address for...here you go!

I've been tagged...

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:15:00 +0000

8 TV Shows I Like to Watch:

1. Cuentame
2. The Office
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Desperate Housewives
5. Lost
6. 30 Rock
7. Saturday Night Live
8. Fama

8 Favorite Restaurants: (in no particular order)

1. Chick-fil-A
2. Taco Bell
3. El Abrigadoiro
4. San Clodio
5. La Creperíe
6. O Beiro
7. La Taberna del Ensanche
8. Santa Lucia

8 Things that Happened Today:

1. Watched the documentary Sicko
2. Lugged boxes of books up into the attic
3. Vacuum-packed two bags of clothes
4. Hand washed two sweaters
5. Sent a resumé out
6. Discovered that the Wake County Lateral Entry Fair is 5 days BEFORE I get to Raleigh...uggg.
7. Watched Larry the Cable Guys Christmas special online :)
8. Drank about 4 Mountain Dews

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. My last day at work
2. January 20th
3. Snow
4. Finding a teaching job
5. Buying a house...at some point
6. Eating at Chick-fil-A and Taco Bell :)
7. Drinking a Dr. Pepper and a Cream Soda
8. Hanging out with Jules

8 Things on My Wish List:

1. Sanity :)
2. Someone to buy our car
3. Organization
4. A teaching job
5. Snow
6. Smooth trip with the cats
7. More energy
8. Unlimited checked baggage

8 People I'm tagging:

1. Brian

That's it!

Christmas Nooks

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:31:00 +0000

Trying to pack up one's life in boxes doesn't agree with breaking out the Christmas tree from the attic. A Christmas nook is all I could do this year.

The Beginning of the End to Rainy Spain?

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:53:00 +0000

I doubt it. I might just have to change the name of the blog to Jolly Raleigh or something like that.

It's been hush hush for months, but considering we only have a little under 2 months left in this great country I've called home for so many years, I've been thinking about the future of Rainy Spain. I'll continue to use it to update everyone on everyday happenings, but I'm also going to use it to reflect on life in Spain. I'm sure there's so much to say about cultural differences, but when you live right in the middle of it, it feels normal and you don't realize how different life really is. I'm sure those differences are going to slap me in the face once we're settled into new jobs, in a new home, with new friends in a "new" country. I'll tell you all about it!

Coming home is going to feel so foreign to me at times. I've lived in Spain for seven years and I've made it my home. It's traditions have become my traditions. It's way of life has become my way of life. It's language has become my language. It's food has become my food!

Anyway, stay tuned, because Rainy Spain isn't going anywhere yet!

Ford Focus 1.8 TDdi 2002 for Sale!!

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:39:00 +0000

For all my Spanish readers in the Santiago vicinity... we are selling our car. If you are interested or know of anyone who might be interested, let me know! Here are some pictures of the jewel :)

Para mis lectores españoles de la zona de Santiago... vendemos el coche. Si os interesa, o sabéis de alguien que le pudiera interesar, ¡decídmelo! Aquí os van unas fotos de la joya :)

Thoughts from Afar

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:08:00 +0000

It's been incredible to be outside of the US and to see the amazingly positive international reaction to President-elect Obama. Everyone here has been following the campaign from the primaries. When I say it's been fully covered on the news, I mean FULLY. Spanish networks, newspapers, documentaries, the Internet and of course CNN. I don't think many Americans realize just how horrible a global image our country has had the past 8 years. Trust me, I've been an expat for 7 of those years and I can assure you that the image is pretty darn bad. Obama hasn't even been sworn in yet, but the world already has renewed hope for change. Everyday I have people congratulate me on the election and I've been truly glowing and proud.

Facebook is a whole other story, sadly. Being the Facebook user that I am, everyday I see friends' status'. I never realized I had so many republican friends! I can honestly say I've been really disappointed by some of the hateful and intransigent comments that the McCain/Paliners have been putting on their status' in reaction to President-elect Obama. He hasn't even had the chance to lead, much less screw up, and people are already making harsh accusations that the country is going to hell and that their children's futures are in peril! He's being attacked with terms like 'socialism', 'muslim', 'terrorist', etc.

I won't get into the far-fetched muslim terrorist accusations, because it's not even worthy of discussion. However, I do think it's interesting how they've tried to associate our new President with socialism. We've gotten a few chuckles out of that one over here. Now, true socialism is one thing, but meeting basic human needs, such as healthcare, is another. As most of you know, I've lived in Spain for the past 7 years, which is a European Social Democracy (think Tony Blair). I have first hand experience in the positive as well as negative aspects (which I might discuss in future posts). Americans tend to cringe when they hear the word "Socialism", and automatically images of Fidel, Russia, and Cold war come to mind. They confuse the term with communist dictatorship or marxism. Automatically fear sets in. It's an effective strategy. False, but effective. Using fear associates the term with images of Russia, instead of, let's say...Sweden. Who the heck's afraid of Sweden? Now I'm not promoting social democracies either, there are many very positive aspects, but also many problems. Yet I think we've all seen that pure capitalism isn't the answer either. The wealth ain't tricklin', people!

We as Americans need to understand that our country is not comprised solely of white, middle-upper class families in the suburbs. The crude reality is that 50,000,000 people in the US are without healthcare. 50,000,000. That's the entire population of Spain. That right there to me is more unpatriotic than the fact that you forgot to put on your American flag lapel pin for a rally.

To sum up, I'm really excited about our country's future. I know these next four years are going to be rough for Obama, because he's inherited a country that's in shreds. But I believe in what he stands for and I'm very optimistic. So, to all the 'mavericks' and Joe the Plumbers out there showing off their pitbull growls and wishin' they could have done mavericky things, I urge you to take a deep breath and give our new President-elect a chance.

Swimming Upstream

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:43:00 +0000

I very rarely ever talk about politics, mostly because I'm a person who tends to avoid conflict. But this election season has really stirred up my political thinking. It had already started in me during the 2004 general elections, but now it's official... I've metamorphasized from a Christian registered Republican to a Christian registered Democrat.

When in our history did the words Christian and Democrat become incompatible? When did labels become more important than issues? When did 'liberal' become a dirty word?

Donald Miller is a Christian author and speaker. A few years back I read his book, "Blue Like Jazz", and every few pages I would say something like, "Yes! So True! Totally agree". And this past summer I read, "Searching for God Knows What", and the same words kept coming out of my mouth. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that he gave the closing prayer at the Democratic National Convention.

This is post that Don wrote on his blog today that explains how he went from Republican to Democrat. Read it. He writes much better than I do :)

Just Chillin' in Retiro Park, Madrid

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:36:00 +0000

If I were a movie...

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:40:00 +0000

So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. When you're finished tag some other people to do it!

Opening Credits: Night Rider's Lament - Garth Brooks (we're off to good start, what the?)

Waking Up: Just You Wait and See - Fats Domino (awesome way to start the day!)

First Day At School: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - U2 (ok, easy now, that's a little too much for a kindergardener)

Falling In Love: God Forbid - Point of Grace (hillarious)

Fight Song: Mediterraneo - Juan Manuel Serat (interesting...I guess I'm a European at heart :))

Breaking Up: Just a Boy - Harry Connick Jr. (it is a tad melodramatic)

Prom: Beloved - Derek Webb (perfect)

Life: Jesus Wrote a Blank Check - Cake (haha)

Making babies: Decatur - Sufjan Stevens (disturbing to say the least)

Mental Breakdown: I'm Still Here - Vertical Horizon (I think my heart just skipped a beat)

Driving: City of New Orleans - Willie Nelson (sweet!!...with the windows rolled down)

Flashback: Sweet River Roll - Waterdeep (takes me back to 401 Joyner freshman year...on tape...not a CD)

Getting back together: Chapter 6 - German with Michel Thomas (that's enough to scare the crap out of anyone)

Wedding: Shame on Me - Sister Hazel (Hmmm, funny...or not?)

Birth of Child: Taking a Chance on Love - Ella Fitzgerald (nice)

Final Battle: Conclusion - Learn German in your car (not a nice way to end things...German is enough to kill a person, though)

Death Scene: A Cold Wind Blows Through Your Door - Bill Ricchini (fits well)

Funeral Song: I've Been Waiting - Sixpence None the Richer (Lovely)

End Credits: You Will Be My Ain True Love - Alison Krauss (tragic)

...maybe I'll try it again...this movie is a little too dramatic for me

Hello, hello? Is this thing on?

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:21:00 +0000

Jose informed me the other day that he was tired of seeing the purple flowers from my last post. The truth is, I have a lot to say, but I can't really say it right now. Some pretty exciting stuff is going on, that's all I can reveal publicly! If after reading this you feel totally in the dark, just drop me an email and I'll fill you in.

Autumn is slowly creeping into Santiago and my plants are looking sad. With all the excitement...I forgot to water them :) Work is hectic as usual, but going more or less as smooth as possible for this time of year.

I'm looking forward to eating some roasted chestnuts this weekend. I love Santiago in October.

That's all for now...and forgive me if I'm a little quieter these next few months. There's lots going on :)

(note: before rumors get spread...and just for the record...I'm not pregnant)

Celebrating Sunny Days

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:45:00 +0000

In Galicia we've had a pretty horrendous summer this year. Just the other day when a cold front came in Jose said, "Well, looks like spring's over!" Yeah, we never really had a summer. So we cherished every drop of sunshine that came our way. "Ooo, is that a ray? Let's go to the beach!" That sort of thing.

Today is actually an absolutely gorgeous day here in Santiago, so I decided to do a little gardening on the terrace. Here are the results...

I even splurged a few weeks back and made some homemade lemonade.

It was a little tart.

The Boat Hunter is Back

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:08:00 +0000

The day has finally come. Just yesterday we received a package in the mail with 9 books inside. The author of which is my husband!! We're still waiting for the other 16 books that will arrive in September, but that's ok. It's published!!

It was a long journey, but definitely worth the wait. This is Jose's 5th published book, it's by far his best, and by far the most difficult to get published! Why you ask? Because it's over 800 pages long. That's pretty much a publisher's nightmare. They want quick and easy money, and this book is comparable to an encyclopedia. But much to our surprise and excitement, the Spanish Ministry of Defense was more than happy to get their hands on it!

I can't explain in depth what it's about yet, because it won't be out on the street until September, but I will leave you with this...

Taking the Train

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:21:00 +0000

Every few months or so we have a board meeting with all 3 Heads of Studies and the Directors in La Coruña. The main reason I like these meetings, apart from all of the brainstorming we get done, is that I take the train. It's about a one hour commute there and one hour back. So that's two hours of alone time, where my cell phone has no signal (because of all the tunnels) so no one can call from work, no students or teachers coming to me with their problems, no dishes to clean and no laundry to be done. Just 2 hours of sitting back and reading a book or listening to my iPod and watching the green landscape out the window.

I'm a person who needs time during the day to be alone. Where I work that's utterly impossible! I'm with people and talking ALL DAY LONG. I'm not complaining, because I have some really awesome co-workers...I couldn't ask for better relationships in the workplace. But after all that talking, I come home and, of course, I want to spend time with Jose, so that means more talking! For those of you who know me... I'm not a talker. I could spend hours on end.... in silence :)

So I have to admit that those 2 hours of silence were a little piece of heaven. But I'm really glad to be home back in Santiago, and anxiously waiting for Jose to get home, because I really want to talk some more.

Little Treats

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:32:00 +0000

We went to Portosin again this weekend for a quick gettaway. I forgot to take my camera but it was a nice breather from the city. We ate a whole bag of sunflower seeds together on the beach, watched a school of dolphins feeding in the ría, and laughed a lot. Good times. My lips are all shrivelled up from so many sunflower seeds, but it was worth it.

Falling Kudzu

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0000

Not much has really happened since my last post. Just monotonous daily routine stuff. The most exciting part of my day today has been watching a man outside a window at work cutting down all the ivy. I wish he would stop...the kudzu was actually pretty, the plain dirty wall behind it is not.

Pudimos! 1-0

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:58:00 +0000

It's been 44 years since Spain has been Eurocup Champions!!!!

(photos taken from El País)

We Made it to the Eurocup Finals!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:18:00 +0000

Last Thursday we played in the Semi-finals against Russia, and won 3-0. I'm not a huge soccer fan, but I love watching the "selección" play.

This is one of the things I love about Spain...they know how to have fun! Take a look.

This video is from early in the night. A little later on, everyone was in the fountain and people were throwing buckets of water out from the windows...just for fun.

Tonight's the big night. The final match between Spain and Germany. ¡España! ¡España!

See more Eurocup fever here

Hot, homemade meals at last!

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:24:00 +0000

Most of you know that I work pretty long hours. This means I don't get home until 8PM most days and some days I'm at work until 9:45 PM. That's the bad part about working at a school that teaches morning, afternoon and night classes. Anyway, because of my schedule I have absolutely no time nor desire to cook anything resembling a hot meal. We've pretty much been living off of salads, pasta, sandwiches, pizza, chinese take-out and the occassional grilled fish when we realized we need to eat healthier.

Last week we received the most amazing gift ever...La Cocinera.

Holy, freakin' cow.

It's like a Crock-Pot on acid.

This machine will cook anything and will have it ready by whenever you want. So far I've made rice with clams, mussels and "berberechos", roasted sea bream, pinenut cake, roquefort bowtie pasta. All I have to do is add the ingredients and press "start". I don't even have to mix...it does it for me. I haven't been this excited since I heard the New Kids on the Block were back together :)

What's in the News

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:09:00 +0000

So there are a few hot news stories going on in Spain lately.

1. Transportation / Distribution Strike: due to high gas prices (although I'm sure it's probably a little more complicated than that), truck drivers all throughout Spain have been on strike since June 8th. You can just imagine what the supermarket shelves look like around here. No fruit, no vegetables, no fresh fish, no yoghurt...nada.

2. 65-hour Work Weeks?: the European Union thinks it would be a good idea to raise the work week from 40 hours to 65 hours. What the???? Have they completely lost it?? That means the normal work week would be Monday to Saturday almost 11 hours a day. The world has gone mad.

3. Droughts and Floods: every year on the east coast of Spain the following occurs - one minute there are major droughts and politicians want to transfer water from the River Ebro, completely changing its normal course, and then a month later it starts to rain and doesn't stop, causing major floods and damage. What I want to know is...there's gotta be someone smart enough out there who can figure out how to catch all that water when it rains and store it for later. Like chipmunks.

4. Any Soccer Fans?: I'm not all that keen on it but, today Spain plays Sweden in the 2008 Eurocup. España! España! Ooooweeeh, ooweh, ooweh, ooweh, oooweeeeeh, ooooweeeeeeh