EuroYankee

Before coming to Europe, I gave away 97.4 percent of my earthly possessions (anyone who saw the crazy-woman Excel spreadsheets I made can attest to the accuracy of this figure.) The karma was more than worth it. In fact, I recommend everyone do it. Not just for the good vibes, but because stuff weighs you down in a certain psychological way. You won’t miss the comfy orange chair or the house plants or the electric mixer, trust me. For some reason in the middle of the night I awoke with the following question in my brain: did I give away that great little wire mesh strainer or take it back to the thrift store from whenst it came? Wherever it landed in the universe, I hope it’s useful.

A friend sent a link to this hilarious article from The Onion which will be appreciated by anyone who has tried to mack on eurotrash lately.

The International Herald Tribune had a glowing review of Spokane Valley native Jess Walter’s new book. It, along with the muggy, cool weather in Valencia, almost made me feel nostalgic for the chapped lips side of Washington. Almost.

I went to the banana stand. Then to the olive stand. Then to the egg stand. And then to a vegetable stand that sells arugula and fresh mint. Sweet. Can’t believe that it took me three months to discover the Ruzafa Market, which is five minutes from my house. I also strolled through the impressive seafood portion of the market, although I was too intimidated to buy anything. On the walk home, I re-discovered an Indian grocery store that we had spotted during Fallas, but could then never find again. There I bought red lentils and a gigantic box of tea. I’d love to invite you all over to drink mint iced tea and talk politics (ie the John Bolton confirmation process. What gives? You can’t spend your career UN-bashing and then think you’ll coast through the confirmation process.) Mmm this tea is good.

A whopping 70 percent of Spanish adults 30 and younger live with their parents, according to an article about apartments in El Pais. Yikes.

Speaking English with fluent non-native speakers always leads to interesting discussions about language. Yesterday, I tried to describe the word “pagentry” when used in a political context. Since English has historically incorporated so many foreign words, adding a new one every now and again doesn’t seem strange.

An International Herald Tribune article by William Safire yesterday has some useful foreign words. My favorite is the japanese phrase “yoko meshi” which describes the difficulty of expressing oneself in a foreign language.

I’m officially out of the U.S. movie loop. The Life Aquatic, one of the last movies I saw before heading to Spain, began playing in theaters here a few weeks ago. I’m counting on y’all to keep me updated on good new movies. What has everyone been seeing lately from the cushy seats of the AMC?

For the last two months I have had a stuffy head and phlegmy cough. The original theory was that I’m allergic to the polluted air here in Valencia. Yet trips outside the region have confirmed that the malaise is general to the Iberian Peninsula (since we try to avoid referring to the Basque Country as Spain.) Lately, the theory has evolved into a blief that I’ve developed second-hand-smokers’-cough. Compared to the USA Spain remains a smoker’s paradise. Smoking is allowed in work places, in all restaurants and in my apartment. Someone told me recently that 50 percent of Spaniards smoke. On the 26 kilometer hike in Penyagolosa, people were lighting up at every break along the trail. Yet the rest of Europe isn’t much better. I liked this recent picture of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder puffing away at a cigar.