Sunrise in Raxo

Took this real quick on Tuesday morning, getting ready to catch our bus to Lisbon.

Things I Hate about Spain

I absolutely love Spain and am greatly enjoying my time here.  I think Spain is an incredibly beautiful and rich country.  That being said, when you start to miss home and it's little comforts, those things here that you are forced to "deal with" become more of a nuisance.  So this blog post was written in tribute to missing home by identifying those things here that just aren't quite right.


Disclaimer: I recognize that I am about to make horrible, sweeping generalizations and I may come off as a spoiled, American brat (ala "Super Sweet Sixteen").  But I'm going to do it anyways.  Enjoy!!

1. Humidity.  Now that summer has ended and the rainy season has officially begun, everything is wet -all the time.  When I get into bed at night, my sheets feel wet.  My pistachios that I bought just a week ago went soft due to just the damn wetness in the air!  When Jonathan turns the space heater on, it feels like I'm literally in a jungle.  We are going to invest in a dehumidifier on our next trip into Pontevedra.

2. Nobody has garbage cans in their bathrooms.  This may seem like not a big deal, but when a woman's got her period, it is.  I don't know if they flush tampons here or what the deal is.

3.  I miss my friends and family.  I have been able to maintain contact with some people via the internet, but it's just not the same.

4. Nobody drinks water (they only drink wine, beer, and coffee).  I feel as though I walk around dehydrated at all times.  As with everything here, the glasses we have in our apartment are small and I have to either sit in our living room with a huge jug of tap water or get up about every 15 minutes to refill my glass in the kitchen.

5. Spaniards are very proud people.  They like to consume Spanish foods and drinks; they're not into imports.  Something I had never really thought about before was how accustomed I am to eating a large diversity of flavors.  Trying to find food that is not native to Spain (i.e. curry and coconut milk) has proven to be a challenge and when we can find them, they are often very expensive.  I understand the benefits of consuming food produced locally and seasonally, and not importing everything, but seasoning everything with parsley, garlic and paprika gets old at a certain point.  I literally jumped for joy the other day when we found ginger in the grocery store.

6. I miss peanut butter.

7.  Vegetables aren't important enough.  The most popular dishes here are fish/shellfish and potatoes (either boiled or french fried - but always, always peeled which is another thing that drives me nuts!  I love potato skins!).  Vegetables usually aren't served when we go to family dinners and when they are, they are a small side dish (i.e. every one can serve themselves 2-3 peppers or a slice of tomato).  Vegetables aren't incorporated enough into dishes; they are generally an afterthought.

8. Epically horrible dubbing.  A tradition that was enforced by Franco an has remained a cultural norm. Absolutely everything is dubbed.  They don't do subtitles here.  The soft core porn that comes on public tv every night around 11pm is dubbed (yes, the grunting).  We watched dubbed Jackass 2 this afternoon; they dubbed the laughing.  Why?!What is actually interesting though, is that every major star has a specific dubber assigned to them.  So for example, Bruce Willis has a specific dubber and Spanish speaking voice associated with him.  The family has said that if someone else were to dub Bruce it would be strange because Bruce wouldn't sound like he normally does (which is stupid because it's not Bruce's real voice anyways!)

9.  Spanish television is horrendous.  And it's not just because I can't understand half of it!  It's like horrible day time television, all the time.

10.  Seemingly simple things are surprisingly difficult to find.  I went out the other day in search for a set of plastic mixing bowls to make Christmas cookies with.  This is something that you can find at almost any dollar store.  I scoured the entire city of Pontevedra and couldn't find any!  Do they not mix here?!

11.  Galicia in the winter is super rainy.  I hate rain (although, I'm going shopping for rain boots tomorrow - my Christmas present from Jonathan:).  Sometimes the rain seems to go on for like 72 hours without ceasing.  I know I no longer live in the frigidness that is Buffalo, but I think I actually prefer snow over rain.  You can walk outside without getting completely wet, everything isn't always so freakin moist (see #1). 

Pope-Mobile

The Pope was here yesterday.  We live about an hour bus ride from Santiago De Compestela, a major catholic pilgrimage.  There are several different routes to take to this church, but the most famous originates in France.  Here's a picture I took of the church during my last trip to Spain 3 years ago:

The Pope arrived here yesterday, greeted by the Spanish royal family.  His message to Spain: that there is an "aggressively secular movement" in Spain, which saddens his heart (i.e. gay marriage and abortions are legal in Spain).  Needless to say, an unpopular pope has quickly become increasingly loathed in Spain.

Two weeks ago, when I found out that the Pope would be coming to Galicia I asked the family over lunch whether anyone would be going to see him.  The family laughed hysterically at me and then spent about 30 minutes chastising him (his politics, his looks, etc.).  They then made jokes about the Pope giving last rights to the pig, who they butchered the same day he was here in Galicia (even Emilia, the 85 year old matriarch of the family, who usually sits silently in a chair by the window, was laughing).  Spain is an overwhelmingly Catholic country, yet there is a growing movement away from the Catholic church.  Spain is a very liberal country and the church, particularly under Benedict XVI, do not perceive social problems similarly.  The family here believes that his perception of the world is centuries old and that he is not in touch with the church's followers. The family also heavily criticized his response to the sexual abuse occurring within the Catholic church and its subsequent response.

When we went to mass on the Day of the Dead the older, more traditional of the priests at the local church here in Raxo performed the service.  During the sermon he asked us to forgive those priests that have abused children as they are humans and they make mistakes.  Luckily for me, there were microphone problems the day of the service and I couldn't understand a word (the last time we went to mass it was perfect for me-a fledgling Spanish speaker-as the priest spoke nice and slow, enunciating everything).  When we got out of the service and were standing outside mingling, Rosa and Begonia were talking about this statement - they were furious.  Similarly, this past Sunday the pope was in Barcelona at La Sagrada Familia.  This is a church designed by Gaudi.  There is a bunch of his architecture all over Barcelona and it's really beautiful.  Here's a picture I took of this church during my last trip to Spain:

We watched the CNN coverage of the mass over coffee with Rosa in Vigo.  As the pope was being presented with jewel encrusted bibles and cups Rosa and Jonathan agreed, if Jesus saw this, he would be infuriated and deeply saddened.  Rosa then spoke of the church's lack of action in combating against poverty.  Later that afternoon we went to a soccer game with Vicente and heard the crowd chant "the pope is a pedophile". 

It was very interesting to me, a non-religious, American to experience Spain's reaction to the Pope coming.  There were some statements and jokes that were done in jest, and probably not the most mature ways of handling the situation.  But I very much admire their separation of faith and this cancer that is the current administration of the church.

Butchering the Pig

After killing and gutting the pig, they hung it overnight to dry it out a little.  We went back the next morning to watch them butcher it.  In the barn they removed the tenderloins and then broke the pig into several large pieces to take into their basement to cut up. 

Here is Chelo removing the tenderloin:

 Here they are splitting up the pig into big pieces to make it easier to move:

Once in the basement Marichelo and Chelo cut the skin of of the pieces and gave it to Jonathan and Marinieves' boyfriend, to remove any large hunks of fat or meat (they use the pieces  of fat for chorizo).  Chelo and Marichelo also removed large pieces of meat, which the boys cut up into fillets.  Gonzalo worked solo, using an axe to break up large bone pieces (they use pieces like this to make stock).  Marinieves labeled bags for the freezer (this was always my job when my dad got a deer - I had a star system and everything).

Here is Marichelo butchering a big ole ham:

 
Here's Gonzalo, collecting some stock parts:

Here's everyone working away, trimming the meat:

Here's Gonzalo cutting bone with n axe - he had impeccable aim.

They then salted bone pieces and pieces of skin (including ears, feet, etc.), which they use to make chicken stock.  After salting them they placed the pieces in a wooden box in their basement to cure.  I asked why they did this, as opposed to just freezing the pieces, and they said that the salt brings out different flavors. 


Here they are, salting away:

We all then went inside and made a delicious pork cutlet lunch.  So fresh and delicious!!

My Very First Futbol Game!!

Jonathan and I spent Saturday night in Vigo, the largest city in Galicia, the region in Spain where we are currently living.  It's a very pretty city, right on the water, and we can't wait to return to see more of the city.  Tina has invited us to stay at her house for a week, so that we can spend more time checking out Vigo (it is about a 40 minute bus ride from us).  On Saturday night we hung out at Vicente and Begonia's house, had dinner and a few drinks.  We spent the night at Rosa's house (Begonia and Vicente have two small boys, Noel and Mario).  We woke up, had croissants and coffee with Rosa and then headed over to the soccer game with Vicente.  It was an absolute riot - I loved it.  It was quite possibly the most dramatic thing I have ever witnessed.  So first, the crowd.  They cheer and boo at ever change in possession (it reminded me very much of when Jonathan and I watched Nadal's gruesome 5 hour Wimbledon win with his mother.  She cheered and booed over every point).  They chant throughout the entire game, "son of a bitch" for example.  When the opposing team, Seville, did any sort of kick off, they would boo, whistle, and throw garbage at them.  So, then there are the players (I now understand why soccer isn't as popular in the US).  They were the most dramatic athletes I have ever seen.  Any time they would take a charge they would fall to the ground, grabbing at some appendage as if they had almost died!  I really had a ball and definitely would love to go to another game.  Some other things to note about the game...they don't serve any alcohol (only NA beer and pop), as a means of crowd control.  When you buy a pop they remove the cap, to prevent people from using them as projectiles.  After the game we returned to Vicente and Begonia's house to eat and hang out.  We then went for a nice walk along the water to look at the boats (Vigo is Europe's largest fishing port) and into the older section of the city to look at the buildings and have a drink.  I have included some pictures I took at the game. 

Last Meal

During Franco's rule in Spain, many people were very poor.  The family we have here, who reside in more rural areas of Spain were hit hard and truly knew hunger.  They subsisted off of eggs and potatoes, which still continue to make up a substantial portion of their diet.  Jonathan and I have spoken previously about how this may shape a large portion of the food culture here, as nothing goes to waste.  Yesterday we saw this in action as they gutted the pig.  Everything is used, feet and ears for stew stock and hunks of fat for greasing pans.  As they were bagging up the intestines and other guts yesterday, I made the joke, "what you guys aren't going to eat this?!"  Also, when we finish eating lunch at their house, they take the scraps and feed them to the pig, and the leftover bread to the duck.  They grow and dry corn to feed to their chickens.  They then use the cobs, once the chickens have eaten all of the kernels, as kindling when they barbecue food.  Some days Jonathan and I will end up letting leftovers go bad because we just feel like having something else.  I don't want to eat leftover chicken, I'd rather have mac and cheese today.  They don't do that here - nothing gets wasted. 

Today I had an interesting conversation with Chelo and Gonzalo, which further illustrates this mentality.  We had an amazing feast for lunch of fresh pork chops, pork liver and onions, french fries, mussels, and salad.  For dessert we had the cake I made (everyone loved my celebratory pig cake :) and croissants that Marianieves made.  During lunch Jonathan asked Chelo whether she preferred pork liver or pork chops, to which she replied that she liked them the same.  I then asked Chelo what her favorite food was.  She then told me that she liked all sorts of food, and then began listing tortilla, meat, fish, stew.  Jonathan and I then explained that in the US, when people are on death row (they don't have the death penalty here) they are offered a last meal.  I then asked Chelo what she would order as her last meal and she reiterated again that she likes all different types of foods.  The family then made fun of Chelo, stating that she wouldn't order anything fancy and just order caldo (stew with cabbage, potatoes, pork, and chicken) and tortilla.  I then realized that to Chelo, she just eats whatever she has, and is grateful to have food.  Thinking about what her last meal would be seems silly to her because she is just lucky to have food...I then leaned in and made a joke to Jonathan, indicating that this must explain why food always gets cold (Chelo is horrible at timing her meals.  The french fries always get cold waiting for other things to cook.  But this must not bother her, as it does me, because she's hungry and happy to eat what's in front of her). 

It's been sweet, Chirrichin

Many people here raise a lot of their own food, whether it be vegetables or livestock.  Chelo and Gonzalo have a chicken coop and 2 pigs.  Today they butchered one of the pigs, Chirrichin.  They have had Chirrichin since May and at his time of death he weighed about 220lbs.  They fed him daily with food scraps from their meals and gourds that they grew in their backyard.  They hired a local man to come and kill the pig, which was done with a cattle gun to the forehead.  Jonathan went down to view this.  I stayed up at the house with Chelo, and then the two of us went down to the barn after it was dead.  Jonathan posted a video of the killing on his blog, if you're interested. 

Here's Gonzalo with the cattle gun.  He's excited - he absolutely loves it when Jonathan and I are excited about something that he does in his every day life.

Here's Gonzalo and the killer-for-hire, right after the pig died.

So then they dragged the pig outside and hosed it down:

And then they blow-torched it to burn all of it's hair off.

 We then brought him up onto a bench, which Gonzalo has made specifically for disartculating animals. 

He was then scrubbed down and rinsed off again, to remove the crust and burnt hair from the torching.

They then cut down the belly of him and spread his legs, as seen below.  The butcher also made a joke to Jonathan and I about showing us how they do it in Spain, as he promptly cut down the belly of the pig and removed it's penis.

And then they took all of the guts out.  Everything else they kept.  Chelo has a big hunk of her last pig on her kitchen counter and she hacks of slabs of the fat to oil pans when she cooks (amazing). 

Here's the butcher giving me a tour of the cardio-pulmonary system, which also had the tongue attached to it (notice Gonzalo in the background excited about our excitement).

And then we rinsed out the insides:

 Lastly we hung the pig up overnight.

This was an absolutely awesome experience.  It made me miss my dad, who would have loved this.  Tomorrow we will return to butcher the pig, to cut up all of the meat into delicious hunks.  We are going to head over to Chelo and Gonzalo's after breakfast for the butchering and then we will all have a big lunch together.  I made a cake to bring over, to commemorate the special day. :)