I, Sarah Trainor, confess to being a shrimp killer. Okay, well maybe not a shrimp killer. They were already dead. But as of today, I have completely dismembered a shrimp. Several shrimp, actually. Sundays in Spain are very similar to Sundays in the states. Families get together for a huge meal on Sunday. It is a day to relax, to go to the park, to take a walk, etc. Elena's parents came over around noon. We all woke up late this morning, so I was still in my pajamas, because we didn't eat breakfast until 11:15! I ran upstairs and hopped in the shower, because I refused to let her parents see me look such a mess!
Her mother and I sat outside on the steps, talking. She asked me about my move and if it was hard to do. I told her about my parents being empty nesters now. She told me about when Elena moved to Valencia and how she took it hard and cried often. It was a tender moment, because although were are both from two totally different places, we have the same experiences. She is triple my age, but it shows how people can be so different, yet so similar. After our conversation, she said that she was making paella for lunch. Paella is a traditional Spanish dish, made mainly of meat and rice. People have paella cook-offs here, that mirror chili cook-offs in the states. I asked her if she would mind if I watched her cook, because I wanted to learn how to make it.
The entire experience was wonderful. She had bought all kinds of meat to put in it. Chicken, shrimp, calamari, and another type of seafood that is very similar to mussels. It was in a shell, but was very small. The thing about Spain is that all of the meat, especially the seafood, is sold how it comes. So that means, bone in meat and skin on fish. This is especially true with shrimp. Which is what leads us to my role as a shrimp dismemberer. The shrimp here is sold just how it was caught. In order to cook it, you have to decapitate it, tear off the legs and outer shell, and then take the tail off. Oh, and you don't devein it! I was planning on deveining it when I was eating, but the shrimp shrunk and it was impossible to see the vein. I just started eating shrimp four years ago and have NEVER had to peel shrimp before. What an experience it was. I was scared to death that the shrimp was magically going to come alive and bite me. I held the shrimp by a finger and ripped the head off. What made this situation worse is that the shrimp still have their eyes intact, so I had to look at its big, black eyes as I showed no mercy. At one point, I think the brain started oozing out of one of my victims because I didn't pull hard enough. It scared me to death and I jumped back. Elena's mother thought this was hilarious! I explained to her that in the states, we don't have to do the nasty work. She said that you can buy shrimp already peeled, frozen, but it is not good. It was definitely a new experience for me! She then put all of the heads, legs, and other body parts in a saucepan and added water, before bringing it to a boil. She makes this broth to put in with the paella, because it has the best seafood taste in the world! The paella was absolutely wonderful, shrimp poop and all! And I'm alive to tell it. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, pray and then send a search party out for me :)
I was really glad to spend time with her mother, because last week, Elena told me that her mother was quite upset that I was coming to live with them for a few months. Before I arrived, it was Elena's parents who stayed with the kids while she was working during the night or on a weekend. Her mother was thinking that she was no longer needed and took all of her personal belongings home with her from the house one day! I was also worried, because I didn't want it to be uncomfortable, and I also wanted her mother to know that she is the grandmother and I am not trying to take her place. Elena told me later in the afternoon, that her mother told her she is in love with me and how wonderful of a person I am! WOW! What a 180, huh?
After lunch, I had a bit of reading to do. My professor for my Democracy of Eastern Europe class assigns several chapters a night. It took me a few hours to read everything and I still have to read eleven pages of my novela (a novel written in Spanish, of course) and type a brief summary of what happened. Let's pray that I understand it! I went outside to read next to the pool and found myself surrounded by the RHOM. I found out that Vicky/Big Bertha is actually named Ludy and Elena cannot stand her! She is a very nosy person who tries to tell everyone what to do. She indirectly criticizes Elena for sending the kids to a British school to learn English. Ludy really is the ringleader. I've noticed that some of the other housewives change their attitudes when she is around. I haven't seen much of "The Doctor" lately. I think he is getting ready to return to the UK, if he has not done so already. I wonder what life will be like without "Mr. Cocky" being around. I really didn't pay attention to what they RHOM were talking about, as I was too engrossed in my reading. I'm sure they call me "The American" or something like that! I did talk to Suzanna for a few minutes, in both English and Spanish. I found out that she studied English for six months in California. She also told me that I speak very good Spanish! I guess I just needed a week to refresh my brain.
I hope that everyone has a safe and relaxing Labor Day tomorrow. It is weird knowing that all of you are off and I will be carrying on like usual. It is going to very odd working and going to school on Thanksgiving Day. I am hoping that the church will have some type of get together for us Americans that evening, but if not, Elena said that we will have our own Thanksgiving, because she knows it is an important tradition for me. Another "Eat, Pray, Love" moment, indeed. I can't wait.
Quote of the Day: This is a Spanish trabalengua, or tonguetwister. "Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en un trigal." Meaning, three sad tigers swallowed wheat in a wheat field!
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