American in Spain

On Friday, we went by the local graphic printing shop to check out their selection of wedding invitations. We had gone the week before, but the sample invitations had been loaned out to another couple for the weekend. We reserved them for this weekend.
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I just wanted to pass along a good story I found today. Most of you reading my blog enjoy vicarious travel via a good cultural travel story.
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My first name is quite rare in Spain. However, it is common enough that people don’t just say, “Huh?” when I tell them my name. And for some reason, probably the Basques (the source of all native usages of the letter ‘K’ in this country), most Eriks in Spain spell their name as I do. But it’s still very rare!

So, imagine my surprise to find this written on the side of my building!
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Due to the request from Uncle Steve, I present to you the recipe for cow tongue, as prepared by Marga and her family…
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Colindres, like many European towns, I suppose, is full of old, crumbling houses that are just waiting to be torn down and turned into modern apartments. In the nearly two years I’ve been here, I’ve seen half a dozen of these historical treasures get the kiss of the bulldozer.
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Here in Spain, people eat cow tongues. It’s actually quite delicious. The texture of the meat is unlike any other. My parents tried some when they were here last year.
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This morning I went, as I do every day, to the local grocery store to buy bread and something to make for lunch.
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For some reason, I started playing around with Google Earth this morning. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had upgraded the quality of images of Colindres and the surrounding area. But what really blew my mind was that they had accurate topographical data as well!
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I just wanted to turn you on to my new favorite video blog: Alive in Baghdad.
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Winter came back this week. Quite violently.
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