LIKE MY DAD ALWAYS SAYS... "THE ONLY THING I LIKE BETTER THAN GOLF, IS FREE GOLF"

Let me break my Granada/Málaga roadtrip down for you in the simplest way:

Gratis: housing, food and laughs
Road trip
A flamenco show
No, Europeans do not know how to shuffle cards
A certain early morning snack
Deanna's public vomiting
Arabic

Y language barriers rule

Morrocan tapas
Ártist affair
La Alhambra
Años cumplidos por Sara. Happy 23rd, chica
Good morning from our ocean front hotel!
And a lot of sunshine

(and Torremolinos)

Outside of the Cathedral in Málaga where we had a potential (very likely) siting of Robert Downey Jr.



The aforementioned Cathedral.




...in it's almost entirety




Conveniently located in the plaza of the Cathedral, thank you for the amazing patatas bravas




Emily and her mom Deanna on their ocean front balcony in Málaga. Can you guess if the balcony that I am standing on is also ocean front? Yes, free ocean front housing. Thank you Deanna, I hope we repaid you in innumerable laughs.



Liquor store security.



Post-Indian food feast. Ethnic food, found almost nowhere in Spain.




Flamenco show. Unfortunately it is not possible to see from these photos but the stage is set in front of a large window with a view of the Alhambra illuminated at night. Absolutely brilliant.














Frederico Garcia Lorca's summer home in Granada. This is where he wrote and painted most of his works. I touched his desk. Before the city development, back then, he had a view of the Alhambra from his bedroom window. Probably also did a lot of daydreaming about Salvador Dalí in that room...



Meet Luis, Sara's salsa instructor from years back. He housed us for 3 nights in Granada and guided us to some of the best tapa bars in the city. FREE GOLF!



This is how TAPAS work: Order a beverage, free plate of food. Refill your beverage, next plate of food. Then you pay for your 5, 6, 7, 8 beers and you're content in more than one way.




Fried eggplant chips.


La Alhambra. 14th Century Moorish fortress. The greatest and most preserved in all the land. It's brilliantly perfect: location, lighting, construction, and artistic flare. You'll see.



That is Emily's mom Deanna (who drove us to Granada and accompanied us around).. Perhaps it was jet-lag blues or she was completely awestruck with the Alhambra's beauty. Either way, Deanna got a little sick and in the enormity of the fortress, and it was basically impossible to find a bathroom close by. This was not the first bush that received her love, but it held her up and did it's job. I wonder how many other people have left their bodily fluids on the Alhambra...?




Emily being artsy or something. I guess it's not too hard to be inspired.




The chicas and I in front of the city at sunset.




La ciudad de Granada





One of many reflecting pools at La Alhambra. These are the most beautiful as it's Islamic architecture meets Christian influence of gardens and ground work.




Creatures




Now you have made it to the inside of the fortress. Hundreds of walls, pilars, floors and ceilings articulately carved by the Moors.



Arabic, what does it say Cammy?



Not one corner un-carved.



Oh and my favorite: Carvings meet tile.



Reflecting pool





Mmm, wrap that in a tortilla.





Probably the most famous photo of the Alhambra.




I was there!




More arabic for Cammy to transcribe, although after posting this I realize that it's backwards.




I'm not sure which way is the floor and which way is the ceiling.












AND HERE IS A CLIP FROM OUR FLAMENCO SHOW.
THE GYPSY TRADITION OF CAVE FLAMENCO CONTINUES ON, NO MATTER HOW TOURISTY, IT REMAINS INCREDIBLY TRADITIONAL.






The whole trip was planned for Sara's birthday weekend.
She studied abroad in Granada for a semester in college and she wanted to re-visit her favorite city. It was an amazing trip of eating, drinking, dancing, and standing with our mouths to the floor engulfed in hundreds of years of history, art and literature. Besides the Alhambra, my favorite location was our Moroccan tapas bar. Two nights we stuffed our faces with cous-cous, empanadas, spinach dishes, potatoey goodness, etc. We celebrated Sara's 23rd and went salsa dancing for her special night. I salsa'd. YES, that happened. Form dancing with rules and movements. We met great people, and one of the first nights while enjoying a (VERY) late night/morning snack of churros con chocolate with an Italian, a German and a Bulgarian, I referred to Granada as the dirty south (This is while my body was so exhausted from dancing I almost fell asleep in my churros). Couple nights later, while playing cards and having tapas with the same German and Italian and having that ever so familiar conversation with foreigners (We are from California but teach English in Spain, where are you from?) the Italian says he's from some little town in Italy.... "In the dirty south." He speaks better Spanish then English. You can assume that I'm spreading my -isms everywhere I go. In other news, Europeans do not know how to shuffle cards. They do the little kid method of mixing them on the table face down, or just pulling random ones out of the pile and putting them on the bottom.

When they watch us shuffle and bridge, they wear a similar face to the one that was frozen on mine as I stared at the Alhambra for three hours.

Cheers from Granada...

THE ACTION OF THANKS

LA TROPA

MENOS YO...LA FOTO ES ASÍ:

SARA, REYES, ROSA, EMILI, JUAN JO, BEA, INMA, BLANCA, ANA MARI.
ONLY ONE OF MY CO-WORKERS CAME (BLANCA) BECAUSE THE OTHER 4 COMMUTE INTO CALATAYUD FROM ZARAGOZA AND IT'S PRETTY HECTIC AT SCHOOL RIGHT BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS.

Thanksgiving in Spain was a success.
Our menu went like this...

APPETIZERS:
homemade pumpkin hummus
roasted brie cheese spread, topped with berries and walnuts
(legit) Indian (pop)corn

LA CENA:
Homemade herb and garlic rolls
Taters of course! Butter bomb infused with roasted garlic
Vegan mushroom/garlic/spiced/onioned/soy/drop of vinagarette gravy
Roasted green beans and corn
Sweet potato casserole (cazuela de boniatos/batatas)
Stuffing (traditional)
Gravy normal
AND A GOLDEN BROWN, ABSOLUTELY THE OPPOSITE OF DRY, WITH NECK AND ESOPHAGUS AND INNARDS INTACT, GOOD ENOUGH TO HAVE ALL THE SPANIARDS SECOND GUESSING THEIR ONE FAITHFUL LOVE TO PORK, LEFTOVERS FOR DAYS, TURKEY.

To Finish Up:
Apple crisp pie (tarta de manzana)
Bizcocho (chocolate and lemon cake, basically)
Sprinklings of candy corn
and my baby: 1 fresh baked Pumpkin Pie + 7ish bite sized mini-morsels. Why would anyone ever buy a pie at the store or use canned pumpkin again? Thank goodness we found nutmeg (nuez moscada) and ginger (jengibre).

The profesoras and one profesor loved the dinner. True to (an Americanized) Spanish custom, we ate hearty food, drank bottle after bottle of wine, topped the evening off with espresso and enjoyed the company of 10 beautifully spirited and unique individuals for six hours, until they basically noticed that we, the three Americans, had indulged our souls with too much comfort food and basically fell asleep at the table. Yes, the Spaniards outlasted the Americans, and at half past one in the morning, they decided we should get some rest.

Leftovers were a plenty, so we had three friends (Óscar, Javi and Jorge) over on Sunday for a second, more informal Thanksgiving dinner. We finally learned how to play with Spanish cards (no 8's or 9's) and yet again, chatted around the table for at least 4 hours. By the way, by HAZ CLICKing on that link, you too can enjoy some local Spanish rap, recorded by Óscar, Jorge and a different Javier, known as Javi 1.

In other news, my 13 year old student ask me today if I have any childrens.

Lastly, we have yet another (it'll never get old saying that) puente (extended holiday weekend) starting Friday, which means no school until next Wednesday. And since I don't work Fridays, only 2 days next week of work, then Christmas vacation begins. Wow, I can't believe I've been here this long. It's happening again, just like in Barcelona... If I've identified this feeling correctly I think it's possible that I may already be feeling nostalgic to have to leave Cala-town. ¡Que triste! Pues, for the puente, the ladies and I are heading down south for some much needed sunshine. ANDALUCÍA!! Tapas galore and por fin, I get to see La Alhambra. We will be meeting Emily's mom in Madrid and taking a road trip to Granada and Málaga. Three American blondies and a spunky brunette driving 6 hours across the country of Spain...I'm already giggling. It is too bad we will be gone this weekend though, because apparently, we are missing out on some excellent cave parties in the nearby town of Paracuellos. We have a few friends from that pueblo and tis tradition for the Constitution holiday that the party relocates from the BIG city of Calatayud to the cave parties in Paracuellos. If I haven't already explained how the region of Aragón geographically functions, it's like this: Aragón is divided in 3 regions. Teruel, Huesca and Zaragoza. If you've asked for my address and wondered why the city is: Calatayud, Zaragoza, and not Calatayud, Aragón, well now you know. We are the 2nd biggest city in the Zaragoza region. So each region basically has 2 big cities, and there are hundreds of small pueblos surrounding us, most without high schools or any school at all.. Thus, all the kids bus in for school and for weekend parties. And (this one's for my family clan) everyone actually says: My pueblo.

Also, in one week from Saturday, I will be en route to Geneva, Switzerland, where I will be spending 2 days solo, then meeting with Adam and cruising to the Alps in the south of France for a few days. Did I just say that? Well yes, it's true. My life is incredible and I'm going to put in 200 percent effort at school that way I feel like I deserve this amazing break. So Geneva to France, France to Barcelona, Barcelona to northern Portugal, Portugal to Madrid to Cala, then to finish things up, Madrid for LA NOCHE VIEJA. My second New Years in this lovely country. ¡Que suerte!

Enjoy these foticos por favor. We'll talk soon.
Kephart......................................................out.

WE FAILED TO REMOVE THE NECK AND THROAT OF THE TURKEY. THAT WOULD HAVE REQUIRED US BREAKING THE SPINE AND PUTTING OUR HANDS IN THE BLOODY SEMI-HOLLOWED OUT GUT. A STRAW FOR AIR!

I'D SAY SOMETHING INAPPROPRIATE BUT GRANNY READS THIS. WHEN I ORDERED THE TURKEY, I ASKED THE BUTCHER HOW IT WILL LOOK WHEN I PICK IT UP. HE SAID, AND I QUOTE, "TÚ NO SUFRES" MEANING HE'LL CLEAN IT OUT, I WON'T SUFFER ANYTHING. WELL, SINCE HE DIDN'T EVEN PLUCK ALL THE FEATHERS OUT, YOU COULD IMAGINE SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS HE DID LEAVE INSIDE.



¡QUE FEA! AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE TURKEY..



PREPPING!




13 POUND TURKEY SUCCESS.

THIS IS MY BABY. ALTHOUGH, I MUST ADMIT, IT TOOK 1.5 ATTEMPTS TO GET IT RIGHT. AS IT TURNS OUT, HOMEMADE CRUST IS ALSO BETTER THAN STORE BOUGHT... IMAGINE!

PUMPKIN PIE DISKS. NOT ALL OF THEM SURVIVED, BUT ALL OF THEM WERE EATEN.

FALLA! FAIL NUMBER ONE. EDIBLE, BUT NOT PRESENTABLE.



PROOF. HOMEMADE, THIS I PROMISE!



PUMPKIN HUMMUS.




BRIE CHEESE MELTED SPREAD WITH BERRY-WALNUT YUMMIES ON TOP.
INCREÍBLE.




SARA'S BABY. YAMMIEZ




¡BUEN PROVECHO!




DESTROYED!!

THIS POST CONTAINS ADULT THEMES AND PERHAPS A SHOUT OUT TO THE BAY AREA

Good afternoon, and happy Friday the 13th.

Emily's mom sent this bottle of Cholula 3 days ago. After month long withdrawals, I relapsed, and it was exactly what they say will happen if you hit the bottle. And I hit it hard. Mom, is the tapatío on it's way?

I did not work today because... well, I never work Fridays. My weekend usually starts on Thursday at 14:30 when the bell rings but teacher's have been out sick and for that I get sent home as a rest day or play day or just another free day. Technically, my work week began on Monday at 10:30am and my weekend began on Thursday at 10:30am. So, after careful calculations it's clear that I only worked part-time this past week.... 8 hours.... of my usual 12. I know this sounds ridiculous and at times I really feel like I'm cheating or something. My work isn't hard but sometimes it is challenging. Spanish high school students have the same hormones as American students and are facing the same peer pressures to fit in, test the boundaries and try to catch the tall lanky American doing something worth gossiping about. And speaking of rumors, popularity and fame, well... the media has detected me on their radar. I was enjoying an adult beverage at the local Australian Country Pub when a boy-man started small talk with me. What's your name? Where are you from? And of course, why are you here? These answers usually just spill out of my mouth in the same order having answered them to probably a couple thousand residents of Calatayud, but this guy really threw off my flow by interrupting me after only telling him I was from California. Dialogue goes like this:

"You're the blonde American teaching the whole town of Calatayud English?????"
"Um, yes. That's me.... Do you know one of my students?"
"No."
"Do you know one of the professors?"
"No."
"Oh, I get it, town gossip, right?"
"No. Well, yes. But I heard about you on the radio."
"THE WHAT?"
"The Calatayud radio station."
"HAHHAHAHA, ok, lies."
"No, I'm not a liar."
"Why would they talk about that on the radio?"
"BECAUSE NOTHING ELSE IS HAPPENING IN CALATAYUD."

I've started looking over my shoulder for paparazzi at every corner.
Naw, I'm kidding, but isn't that just too funny? I'm really looking forward to start making some weekend trips outa here because I need to change it up a little. I'm getting into a routine, especially on the weekends. But hey, this weekend will be a bit different. There was a town-wide children's drawing contest and the results are in with a scheduled awards ceremony on Saturday at noon. Free snacks!
Well the three Americans have started planning Calatayud's inaugural THANKSGIVING FEAST. We've somewhat assembled a guest list comprised of co-workers and various friends who we think will mix well with our superiors at school. Also, we are going to visit a few butchers this weekend to find the best deal on whole turkeys. Thing is, turkey isn't a fan favorite in Spain. Pork, beef, lamb, seafood, chicken, baby beef, baby lamb, rice, duck, seafood and seitan basically all come to mind before Spaniards are like, "hm I've really been craving turkey meat. A whole one with legs and wings and everything. Oh I could just baste it and slow roast it in the oven, what a meal we're gunna have!" They're too lazy first of all, I mean c'mon they close the whole country down for two and a half hours every day to eat, sleep, smoke and drink coffee. Secondly, white meat? They eat blood sausage for breakfast and drunk munchiez. SNAP. Anyways, we're hoping to be able to pre-order a turkey to arrive for our big day. Then we're going to have a video skype session with all of our moms because how the F do you cook a whole turkey? And speaking of food...

Check out what 14 EURO got me at the store:
butter 250g
box of fiber flakes cereal
block of gouda cheese 500g
milk 1 liter
coca cola zero, 2 cans
asparagus spears 350g about 15 spears
hot chocolate mix 500g
3 bananas
1 large grapefruit
1 loaf of fresh baked artesan bread
1 bottle of water
sack of potatoes 3kg
tomato/pasta sauce 1 jar
broccoli 400g

A friend we met in Zaragoza (the city) is making the trek out to C-town for a couple nights. I'm excited to take someone new up the mountain to play at the castle AND start a dance competition at the Australian with the locals.. which I am, too. OH and I'm hoping there's a few people reading who will appreciate this.. The Americans have assembled a large music play list to submit to our friends at the Australian because they only have about 50 songs on repeat and the one's they do have in English aren't very good. I VERY STRONGLY DISLIKE KATY PERRY. So as bad as I feel about infiltrating a very authentic Spanish town's "club" more or less with American music, it must be done. We tried to keep it more Tiesto-ish and less Eminem, but like I said, for those who would appreciate this... I snuck in a few E-40, Too $hort and Mac Dre songz...keepin the movement alive! Actually, I'm feeling neutral about my decision. It's possible they won't play them, because these are only suggestions, but.. a little hyphy never killed anyone. I'll be sure to only get stupid in the confines of my room, where I'll also be leaving my thizz face on Saturday.

With that, ¡Que tengais un buen fin de semana!

P.S. My students asked me what "freaking" meant. I received supervisory consent to tell them that it's "a nice way of saying 'fucking,' " which they understand as the FU word, pronounced in Spanish like FOO