Why the title? Well, I had a first in my lifetime last night (Friday evening). I tried rabbit. I don't know why I have issues eating some animals over others, but for some reason, I picture a big, fluffy, white rabbit just hopping along minding his own business munching (possibly saying "I'm late, I'm late... for a very imporant date...) on grass and then boom... he's no more and he's on my plate. I wasn't sure I'd be able to try it, but I am trying to embrace everything Spanish and it's on the menu at EVERY place. So, I bit the bullet and tried it. I ordered it with a garlic sauce. After I ordered it, Joanne took it upon herself to freak me out about ordering it. "What if it comes out with the head still on it?" What if the eyeballs are still in it?" You know, random wonderments that were in my head, too, but saying it out loud made it a bigger concern to me. I was quite nervous, haha! It came out and there was no head, no tail, no eyeballs. It looked like pork chop bits, kind of. There were pieces of meat all over my plate sitting on top of french fries ("chips," here). It was completely coated in an oily garlic sauce and had chunks of garlic cloves spread throughout. For those of you who know me well enough, you know I like my french fries (chips) well done... crispy as hell. I was not excited that they were in the bottom of the dish. It was like a garlicy oil soup with french fries in it underneath the rabbit meat. Regardless, I looked at the meat... I always inspect my food before I eat it. I don't know if it's just a paranoid habit or what, but I do it with everything. I need to know that the food is done before I eat it. Food poisoning is not something I want to play with again. Ever. Anyway... I initially used my fork and knife like a proper lady, but there were bones in every piece. Literally. Screw it, I'm not really a proper lady, anyway, so I picked them up like chicken wings. A couple of the pieces actually looked really similar to chicken wings. First bite... Are you on the edge of your seats, haha? It was really good. The sauce they used on it, although disappointingly smothering my fries, was a delicious addition to a meat that closely resembled chicken. It was juicy and cooked really nicely. It was a bit chewier than chicken, but not real noticably. I am not a big fan of super greasy food and this was no exception. After eating a third of it, I was kind of over the 'oily-ness' of it. And the big drawback for me was the bones. There were bones in every single piece, sometimes small bones that are hard to discover unless you are chewing really thoroughly (similar to those tiny, thin bones in fish). I don't like to work for my food. Does that make sense? I don't like to order crab because it is such a chore to break the legs and then dig out all the meat. And when you are done digging it out, you barely have any food at all in the grande scheme of things. All that work with little reward. It was like that with the rabbit. I'm not sure if it's like that everywhere. I don't know if I got the rabbit as they are normally cooked or if I was at a restaurant that may do it differently than other places. I'm not sure, but it will probably be a little while before I order it again. The meat itself was delicious and I highly recommend it, but I'd do it without an oily sauce next time. And I don't know if there's a way to order it where I can just get a breast or something without all the bones, but if there is a way, I'd do that, too. :) Overall, it was a good choice and a positive experience.
Here is it! :) Notice how oily and greasy the bottom of it was... aside from the bones, that was the worst part. :)
I am getting used to going to the meat shop if I want to cook something that night. Sure, we have Wal-Mart and pre-packaged meat in the states, but there is something different about walking into the shop and seeing all your meat selections in front of you and ordering it fresh for the night's meal. Does that sound silly? I don't know. I think it's different. I mean, it's definitey different in some of the selection they have, that's for sure. I still don't know what the animal is with eyes and a face on it. I don't know if I want to ask. And you can be certain, I won't be purchasing it to cook at home. HaHa! I'm getting more confident in what I'm ordering, too. You can order some delicious cheeses here, also. I'm also a picky person about my cheeses. I don't like wierd cheeses or smelly cheeses or whatever. They don't have Colby/Monterray Jack here. And I don't think I could go 9 months without cheese, so I ordered 'semicurado.' He explained to me that the 'curado' was very strong, the 'semicurado' was less strong and then there was another one (that honestly just looked kinda gross) that was the weakest. All the cheeses are white cheeses, no yellow. I normally would have ordered the weakest one, but I went with the middle one and I was not disappointed. It's really good. I have to cut the outsides of it off before eating, but it's worth it! :) Good stuff! It is also much more cost effective to go to the meat shop and get fresh meat and cheese rather than buying it in the supermarket... significantly more effective.
I know I said I'd write about the whole "Taking Jesus Back" festival thing that was last weekend, but the truth is, I slept through all the action. It was my fault because we went out until 4:30 or 5:00 the morning prior. Ooops. The fireworks that went off for 30 minutes at 11:00 woke me up, but I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed. Eventually, I did, and we headed to the plaza to see if there was anything going on. There were TONS of people. All the bars and cafes that are typically closed were all packed full, inside and out. The festival was in celebration of taking a statue back to a chapel in the mountains. I guess every fair, I think, they bring the statue to town and have another festival and celebration for that occassion. There's a processional with bands and dancing and all sorts of stuff to celebrate the occassion. Last weekend was the processional to take it back to the chapel in the mountains. I don't know how far away it was and I honestly don't know much about it at all. Another teacher, Isabel, got some pictures of it. It just seemed pretty typical of maybe the Peace Treaty parade, but obviously the colors and costumes of this area. The amount of people in town definitely increased quite a bit, at least, for the weekend. There were SO many people. All the bars bring out tables and chairs that they line the streets with. Fortunately, the weather was perfect for that one day and people could comfortably wear dresses or warm weather clothes. It was nice. We just walked around and accidentaly ran into our group of friends. We sat for an hour or so with them before heading home. Unfortunately, I did not get to fully experience this festival, but there will be more and I promise not to stay out too late the night before the next one. Festivals are everywhere and all the time here, so I promise there will be plenty of opportunity for others! :)
It's starting to get freakin' cold! And the rain is becoming more frequent right now. It's has rained every night for the last 5 nights and sporadically throughout the days. November 1st, in the daytime, we were able to lay out in on the patio area and get some sun in a tank top and shorts, but that day seems long in the past, haha! And it's only the beginning of the winter months. It does not help that we are on the top floor of the house with no insulation. It is quite cold, but nothing like a Kansas winter so far. There's been a couple days where the wind reminded me of Kansas, haha! I'll keep you posted on that, but for now, I am relying on this little gas can heater thing for my room. I have to pay for the gas can, so I am trying to do my best to use it when it's REALLY cold and really necessary. I want to make it last, haha, if I have to pay for it. I was under the impression it was included in rent, but that is apparently not the case. And we have to start paying for the water heater, so rent went up 20 €, but I guess I can't complain. I get hot showers and a mini heater, haha! :) It's still much cheaper than any rent I've paid in the states, so this girl won't complain!
Here is what is supposed to keep me warm for the next 4 or 5 months...
An update on the NIE process: I spoke with a girl from Boston who is living in Jaen participating in the same program as I myself. I asked her about her experience at the extranjero's office for the whole NIE thing and she is in the exact same boat as me. She has to go back to get fingerprints and give photos just like I do, so it's nice to know that it wasn't just an unfortunate incident for me to encounter. It must simply be there 'process' for doing things around here. It was good to speak to her about that and know that I'm not just getting the run-around. :) Also, I got a letter from a friend from Fort Hays who is living in Belguim right now. Leah, I can't thank you enough for my your message. It was really good to read and thanks for your encouraging words. I do hope to meet up with you sometime. :)
Um, I love getting snail mail, so if you all are bored and want to send a little note, I think you should! HaHa! Had to put that little plug in there. :) Here's my address in case you DO want to send me something. :)
Ashley Jo Cook
6 Calle Damas
Valdepeñas de Jaén
23150 Jaén
Spain
Ok... so that's going to be my entry for now. How's the weather in Kansas? Any snow yet? I hope that this finds you all well!
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