starting to get a little worried about the homecoming (obviously not about my living situation, the burritos, mis amigos, or seeing beautiful sf again, more like the change of pace). the arrival of jeanne and larry was stupendous. we experienced a rare night out in granada to one of the poshest restaurants in this little hippie hamlet, and what, you may ask, did we eat? well, fondue of course. because only the coolest of cool and the fanciest of fancy can afford to sit beneath the shadow of the alhambra munching on iberian ham (purebred and fed only chestnuts, of course), various pates, and champinone y trufa fondue. compared to sf standards, well it was laughable lets be honest, but for granada it was some good, down-to-earth-made-fancy food. this should've been my first hint that the transition back to the glorious west coast would not be as easy peasy as i would've hoped.
spent the last two days wowing the 'rents with my fabulous spanish (since they last saw me when all i could manage were a few useful, albeit grotesquely vulgar mexican spanish phrases, my newly learned grammar and vocabulary are quite impressive), touring around granada, and generally enjoying the (craptastic) weather. yes it is raining otra vez, cold and awful. apparently there is (yet another) freak stormfront moving over southern europe...lucky for the fam they get to experience granada as i first did: cold, dark and wet.
of course the family arrival also brought tidings from new york (and my new favorite nyu sweatshirt) and have sparked multiple discussions on what a change nyc will be from sf....let alone small town spain. so i have four months to unlearn all of my newfound spanish zen-ness and go-with-the-flow attitude (i think even j&l would prefer me to be a little more planned and productive here, but when in rome....cant say that enough). such a shame as i worked on that for weeks and weeks before i really got it right, and in such a short time i will likely become a pushy, rushy new yorker (eek) alas....
these next few days will be full of great granada fun: after school tapas and of course a mexican meal at my apartment (i mean if you truly want to experience my life here you have to eat some of my perfected recipes...i may be in spain but my mexican is "off the chain") tomorrow; visit to the alhambra (finally) and flamenco show tuesday; packing day wednesday and of course my final visit to shar (oh how i will miss him, am hoping he will endow me with his curry vinadloo recipe as a going away gift); thursday i plan to tapear and enjoy everything that granada has to offer (free food or otherwise) as friday after school we are out of here and off to sevilla.
i'm hoping that our gradual transition from small-town granada to hipster andalucian town sevilla to the happening-madrid will prepare me mentally for my return. of course we do have a layover in atlanta during which time i can soak up some good ole southerm culture (god grant me fried chicken...). although i doubt anything can undo three months of spain in such a short time.
what can i say? i'm stoked, i want sushi, i want thai food, i want the biggest mission burrito my money can buy...i want to use dollars and speak spanglish (cuz that's how we do it on the west side), and to be able to cook with fresh ginger. (good thing i'm planning a career in food culture as all my deepest wishes and desires revolve around satisfying my culinary needs). i want to see my friends, my family (although j&l being here is one of the best gifts ever, its so fun to show them what i have been donig on my own for three months), my pillows....the list goes on.
no doubt i will follow this up with many-a-blogpost from the hills of sf describing my longing for flamenco music, papas bravas, claras, and Spanish spanish (although i can never deny my love of mexico, mexicans, and anything generally related with our brothers to the south). for now i will content myself with enjoying my last four days of granada and worry about the rest as it comes (see, i am so spanish, three months ago this would've wigged me out....live and learn, my friends, live and learn...)
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