It all came about one fateful evening, soon after the daring adventurers Dani and Miguel had finally come to arrive, after much wandering and tribulation, safely in a small pueblo in the country.
(I'm dramatizing this a little to make it a little more interesting. In actuality, Valladolid is a decent sized city, not a small town, but something small and vulnerable like a country town just sounds more adventurous. Also, the trip to Valladolid from Madrid was actually rather uneventful, most everyone slept on the coach bus. Another point that needs addressing is this whole Dani and Miguel thing, which is a whole other story. Our host mother found it difficult to pronounce our names, Jared's and mine (Asher), as both of them have some rather Englishy sounds that are not found in Spanish. She had letters with our information (as we would be living with her) and found in them our full names—first, middle, and last. She then took it upon herself to designate to us easier names, selected from our middle names. Seeing as I have the middle name Daniel, a traditional Spanish name, I became known henceforth by my host parents as Dani/Daniel. Jared, who's middle name is Mitchel, was proclaimed to be Miguel, what they decided was the Spanish equivalent (though really Miguel is Michael, not Mitchel, but close enough, right? Anyway, back to the story).
Where was I...Yes, our heroes had just arrived in the pueblo, and a wonderful, caring family had taken them in for a time, to help them rejuvenate and rest from the flurry of their chaotic travels. That evening they were having a wonderful, home-cooked meal that would have fancied the palate of even the most prestigious and persnickety of elegant eaters. But alas, what is this that causes Dani to distraught, but that these people actually enjoy the flavors of Poseidon's table. Lo! upon the salad is set the meat of some few sardines, a tragedy in the mind of Dani, to pollute such a succulent dish of lettuce with the flesh of the sea. But, understanding the locals' appreciation for such a peculiar flavor, Dani requested not to be served what he knew they would enjoy (and what he would not) upon the basis that he did not really like fish. Yet, there did fall from the mouth of the kindly Señora such curious words that had no rivals upon the ears of Dani, for never before had he heard such a telling. For she did proclaim that sardines are not fish.
"No, no, Sardines are not fish," she said. "These are very rich, yes, quite delicious. They aren't fish, these sardines are wonderful and good for your health, eat them, they are very good for you. No, they are fish, they are good."
Certainly confused, and yet not lacking a certain amount of amusement at this proclamation, Daniel ate the salad of fish-that-are-not-fish and did ponder that evening much over the words of the Señora. How could it be that sardines are not fish? The best conclusion that he arrived at was that this fine Señora was only trying to convey, albeit in a rather curious way, that she meant him to eat the sardines since they were not of the fashion of a traditional fish preparation, and, as she saw it, rather scrumptious. But alas, be it true or nay, henceforth it shall be known that sardines are not always categorized as one of Poseidon's kin, nor of his table, nor of his domain. And upon this idea will dwell Dani for some time yet, as his adventures he continues.
Hopefully now you understand what is meant by my saying that sardines are not fish, sorry for any confusion I may have caused with that statement. I hope that you enjoyed your adventures with Dani and Miguel and that they will continue to pleasure you in the future (I'm writing that as much to myself as to you, for I hope to maybe bring them back in some stories along the way).
***
That covers the main topic of which I wanted to speak this week, but I have some other (hopefully) short observations and things to recount.
Above, when I wrote "a whole other story," I really wanted to write "a whole nother story." But the things is, this is something we say but not something that is grammatically correct. Why is that, does it come from saying "another story," and we just inserted the "whole" in the middle of the word, like "a-whole-nother" story. Sort of like saying, incon-freakin'-ceivable? I honestly have no clue, I just thought it was worth throwing out there. And I invite you to comment or express your thoughts to me, I'd love to hear your opinions. Or maybe you don't say "nother" to begin with and you think I am just crazy, feel free to say that too if you like.
Another thing about words, I am not very good at using them sparingly, especially in my writing. So writing the above synopsis of my blog (at the top of the page, the header under the title), which could only be 500 characters, was rather difficult for me. I mean, ONLY FIVE-HUNDRED CHARACTERS!! What is this, a rationed communist society that I should only get so many letters and spaces?! I live in free America, let me use my words! Well, I guess I am actually in Spain right now, but come on, free western society! Am I right or am I right?! Anyway, I feel I actually ended up whittling it down pretty well (after much deliberation and time), so *hint-hint* you can check it out if you like.
Again, to the story above of our daring heroes, in reference to the dearest Señora. Once we got placed in our host families we received a family bio about who with and where we would be living, such as locale, internet access, family members, etc. Well, that of my host mom said that she was single and had no pets, neither of which turned out to be true. She is married, to a very friendly, if not mumbly, Señor, and she has a little terrier Luca, who she seems to have had for seven years. Not really sure why there seems to be such a contradiction, but so it is.
The school here hosted a welcome dinner at a local restaurant for all the students studying Spanish here at the University de Valladolid (UVa) (which is pronounced OO-vah, with a B-ized V). Most everyone sat with the group they came with, but I decided to make a venture and sit where I wasn't known and with those I didn't know. I ended up sitting with some very wonderful Japanese students who have been here since September and are studying the whole year here. It was so cool that neither of us spoke the other's language and yet we able to communicate on the basis of our common middle ground—Spanish. It was also interesting to hear others' opinions, such as those of the Japanese, of Americans. According to them, many Americans come in saying, "oh, well, I don't really drink that much," and then drink like they're bottle-count is somehow inversely proportional to the minutes left until dawn. Or that American's are often times here in Europe more for the party and night life than they are for the study and cultural experience. This is a point on which I can definitely see where they are coming from, as I have observed among some of the Americans here a zeal to go out and party where there is little to study. There are definitely those who have found a balance, but it is interesting to me how little Spanish some people know or how little they seem to try to use it, and yet they chose to pay to come to Spain to speak, listen to, and learn the language. For now it is a preliminary observation, but it struck me as a bit odd.
One other thing, it came to me to think of what my ideal day would look like. I have no idea why, but for some reason I thought, what would my ideal day include? That got me to thinking, and I thought I would share with you what I have so far. So here is Asher's Ideal Day
My Ideal Day
-Warmth—I would like to be the perfect temperature for just one complete day. Not to cold, not to hot, but just right for once.
-Sunshine—good weather is such a must for any ideal day.
-Friends—it would definitely include quality time with quality friends.
-Good Music—this could be in the form of listening to it, making it, singing or playing it. But one way or another it would play a part in my ideal day.
-Message, Chiropractor, and Acupuncture—I have never had acupuncture, but I feel like I would love it. So this day would include a wondrous message and relaxation, some spinal alignment from a chiropractor, and a muscle-relaxing, tenseness-releasing acupuncture session.
-Sleep—or at least, if I didn't sleep during this special day, I would like to feel well-rested
-A Great New Book—I would discover and make significant progress into a new book that I just happened to love.
There it is, what do you think of my ideal day? Is there something you would add or take away? Something you think I would like or you think I might have forgotten? Let me know, I want to make sure I perfect my perfect day in case it should ever come to fruition :) Or let me know what your ideal day looks like, maybe it would be very different from mine.
Well, I hope you have enjoyed your stay here amongst my words, and I hope you come back sometimes and lose yourself again in my ramblings. I know, there aren't any pictures, but I'll use that to lure you back, because I can promise you that next time I'll include some pictures of my new home here in Valladolid.
With much joy and love to you all,
Asher
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