Andorra: Outdoorsman's Dream, Shopper's Paradise, Everyone Else's Meh

Synopsis: Going to Andorra to support Emilito and his basketball team at the national championships. Not sure why it's in Andorra, but I've been wanting to go there, so I'm not asking any questions.

The Spanish National Basketball Championship for Spanish Cadetes is in a different country???

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Por que estoy contento con mi nivel de español

Bueno, he estado aquí en España desde hace seis meses. He hecho dos años de los clases de español antes de llegar aquí, pero realmente fui 60% del tiempo. Entonces, podemos decir que tengo un año y medio de experiencia con español. 

Si piensas de aprender un nuevo idioma como eres un bebe, según este pagina web (es en inglés) a 18 meses debes poder decir 20 palabras. Conozco por lo menos 23, entonces estoy mucho mas avanzado que los bebes normales. 

Seguramente soy adulto y estoy mucho mas inteligente que un bebe, ¿no? Pues, si y no. Si, porque puedo irme al baño sin ayuda (a veces) y entiendo como utilizar comunicación con gestiones. Además, puedo utilizar Google cuando no entiendo algo para traducir y al final entender. Enséñame un bebe que puede hacerlo!

Pero, no tengo tan sabiduría como un bebe porque tengo demasiado inteligencia! Que irónico, ¿no? Para decir lo que los maestros de kung-fu dicen, mi copa esta ya lleno, y no puedo rellenarlo hasta después que lo vacío. Digo más sobre este sujeto en este blog (en inglés).

Entonces, estoy contento que puedo hablar y escuchar a un buen nivel. Claro que quiero aprender más rápido y poder decir y escuchar mejor, y hacerlo ahora mismo, pero entiendo que necesito tiempo y nunca dejar practicando. Gracias a todos que me ayuda y voy a haceros orgullos de mi! 

Algiuen totally debe comprarme this t-shirt!

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5 Reasons This American Thinks It's Easier for Kids to Learn Languages

I'm learning Spanish. I was / am still / should be doing more to learn French. Languages are hard. Not because they are hard, but because I am an adult. Remember when you were a young child (this may be a long time ago for some), how easy life was? No bills, no significant problems, no responsibility. Ah, the good ol' days!

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16 Super Cool Things This American Did While Living in Belgium

Now that I have had some time to think about it, and now that I have a pretty good rhythm going here in Spain and I could sit down and focus, I have finally come up with my list of some of my favorites things I did during the four and a half years that I lived in Belgium. I tried to pick things that were specific to Belgium, and though going to the theaters to see movies in French is cool, I opted for more rare activities for this post. Here are 16 of the hundreds of memorable moments I experienced in Belgium, in chronological order.

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Córdoba, Spain: Fiesta de Los Patios

Synopsis: Fresh off La Féria in Sevilla, still questing along and hitting all the major fiestas and events. Next on the list: los patios de Córdoba, a contest where inhabitants decorate their patios (courtyards) with flowers, plants, and other garden-related fashionable items. I found a host on couchsurfing for three nights, and then the last night I'll stay in a hostel. Found a good deal on the train, too!

In such a hot place, it makes sense they would celebrate such a cool thing

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¿Sabes qué me saca de mis casillas? pt.1

Soy un hombre tranquilo, tengo sangre de horchata, pero hay algunas cosas que me queman la sangre (he aprendido unos frases idiomáticas con sangre, ¿no?). Si, ya está etiquetada la parte uno, porque hay muchas cosas que me molestan. ¿Que piensas de mi título? Es una buena expresión para decir lo que me enfada. Entonces, ¿qué me saca de mis casillas?

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Battle of the Kitchens: España vs USA - Round 2

Since I moved into the Linzoain's home, I haven't noticed many differences in the manner of cooking or food choice, between Mariasun and I. But, after several months, I've picked out some idiosyncrasies in the way we run our kitchens. Here is the much anticipated follow-up battle to the last bout, between Virginia and I, of Battle of the Kitchens: España vs USA. 

Mariasun's kitchen vs Mine: 

1. Mariasun does not own a microwave, nor will she ever buy one. She is not a fan of the radiation and I can respect that. However, sometimes, I need to warm up some leftovers or make some popcorn, and using the stovetop or oven just take way too long. I'm a busy man, with all of my stuff and things that I have to get done, and stuff.

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Sevilla, Spain: La Feria 2015

Synopsis: Continuing on my quest to do all the biggest festivals in Spain, I couldn't miss the opportunity to go to Sevilla for La Feria de Abril, the annual fair that attracts millions of people to eat tapas, enjoy aperitifs, ride fair rides, and more than anything, bailar sevillanas - dance to the traditional music. Virginia and I are going with a two-time La Feria veteran, Javier, to enjoy in the festivities for the weekend. If you don't know what La Feria is, refer to my cheat sheet before proceeding.

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TMax, ¿ya hablas español?

¡Claro que si! Y, ya esta. Jaja es broma. Sé mas español que antes, pero no mucho. Después dos años aprendiendo en Bélgica y cinco meses aquí en Pamplona, debo hablar muy bien, ¿no? Al menos, yo sé como poner los puntos de interrogación y exclamación. Y no puedo mentir, mi ordenador sabe donde poner los acentos y lo hace su mismo.

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XVII Semana del Pincho de Navarra

Synopsis: I run into a bar last week to grab a quick pintxo and I see a pamphlet on the counter for a festival of pintxo taste testing, happening all over Navarra, with most of the participants being in Pamplona, called Semana Del Pincho de Navarra. Along with my "Pintxo Pals" we hit the streets on a few different days, to try as many as we can of the 76 bars/restaurants participating. 

Below, I only describe the dish, but a lot of them have clever names in Spanish. For more information on the event, and the original names, check out their website. Three reviews. 

All dishes are rated using the Timchelin 5-star system.

Day 1: Three reviews. 

Pintxo Pals

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Girona, Spain: Costa Brava and a Bit of Basketball

Synopsis: Since Emilito has a basketball tournament in Girona during semana santa, the holy week of Easter, the entire family sets out to go support him in his games and take advantage of seeing the beautiful coastline of Costa Brava. This is the first multi-day trip I'm taking with the family, so I'm not going to make any plans and just go with the flow. Plus Emilio is an enthusiastic tour guide and will take us to see some great sights.

Trip Overview:
Day 1: Set out at 2am on a six hour drive. Emilio and I take turns driving while the ladies sleep in the back. Emilito is on the bus with his teammates. We stop at Porta De Barcelona for breakfast, and what do you know - all carbs! Glad I brought my coconut oil.

We arrive in Girona and check into the apartment, in a nice and good location, close to the historic center. We go to Emilito's first game and they are clearly tired and play poorly, but win by one.

Along with the parents of the other players, we head into center of Girona and grab lunch. In the second basketball game, they play way better and win easily. We say goodbye to Emilito for the night and head to apartment for a siesta. Around dinnertime (remember it's late here in Spain), we go to a Japanese restaurant and it's quite delicious. 

Thoughts: Catalan is like Castilian and French had a baby, yet I still don't understand. Thankfully, everyone still speaks Castilian here. I notice many flags and posters for independence, just like I saw in Basque Country. 

Go Emilito!

The family watching intensely

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Valencia, Spain: Las Fallas 2015

Synopsis: Since I only have one year in Spain, I want to go and experience as many of the local customs, traditions, and of course, celebrations, that I can. Valencia is a short 4-5 hour drive from where I live, so my buddy, Greg, and I are gonna road trip it there, and partake in the last days of the Las Fallas celebration (official website in Spanish). We found a sweet deal on AirBnB and this will be our first time using the website to find a place to stay. 

Las Fallas 2015 Valencia, Spain

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10 More Fun Things This American Has Learned About The Spanish Language

If I am doing this post again (and a 3rd time and 4th time and 5th time and 6th time and 7th time and 8th time), that means that I am learning more about the Spanish language, and thus realizing my goal of speaking the language. Yay for me! I think it is funny when Spanish people say that English is a difficult language, as though Spanish is a cake walk and doesn't have over 100 conjugations per verb, compared to the barely 20 an English verb has. 

But, aside from that, the Spanish language is a rich and interesting language and offers me many things to comment on (and share with all of you who are clearly bored or killing time between doing something productive, and reading my blog). To the content!

1. Poco a poco (little by little) - the catch-all phrase for progress or for saying something is not happening right now, but hopefully it will be in the future. How's your Spanish?  Poco a poco. Bill is in the hosptial? How is he recovering? Poco a poco. I hear your kids are doing better in school? Poco a poco. Are you going to eat all of those pintxos? Poco a poco. What do you call a fight between two small children? Poco a poco^TM.

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