Celebrating Spanish Style

A sky as clear and blue as Crater Lake met the sharp, snow-capped Picos de Europa as we climbed Pico Pierzo in the region of Ponga, Western Asturias. We packed light and hiked in tank tops, our arms browning under the strong autumn sun. Joaquin, the PE teacher at El Batan (Claire's school) who never misses a weekend "de monte", invited us to join him and his family for a steep Saturday hike about two hours from Oviedo. As we twisted and wound around hairpins turns, periodically dodging cows and chickens, we traced our journey on a topographic map and realized just how many peaks Asturias boasts. You could spend lifetime hiking and wouldn't have explored every route.

Good company and conversation led us three hours to the summit, where a 360' view spanned from ocean to mountains. Green folds of terrain swallowed pueblines (towns) far below. The hike allowed us a new perspective of our casa, the beautiful nature surrounding us. A perfect way to take advantage a sunny, late-October Saturday.

This wonderful weekend did not end there. On Sunday, Mayte, an English teacher at Santa Barbara (Ryan's school), invited us to participate in the Asturian tradition of cogiendo castanas (gathering chestnuts) with her family in a nearby pueblin. Rested atop a slope adorned with orchards and pastures, her parents' house has a small garden where they harvest apples for sidra as well as kiwis and other vegetables. Overlooking the striking view, we prepared chestnuts for cooking in a homemade outdoor oven and drank sidra until our customary lunch of Asturian food that resembled Accion de Gracias (Thanksgiving) was ready. I, Ryan, feasted on the fabada that I had heard so much about, a stew of faba beans, blood sausage and pork slowly cooked for hours. Claire was prepared her usual veggie option: fresh tomatoes and canned tuna. Mayte's mother was the most gracious host, who wasn't satisfied until we were in a sedated state of comida-coma.
We realized the unfortunate truth of living in a country that doesn't celebrate Halloween last week as we paraded around the bar-strewn streets of Oviedo sporting our Obama T-shirts, emblem-for-change painted faces and magician capes as "Equipo (Team) Obama." As I, Claire, talked politics with a few foreign zombies, a Spanish woman ran up to me, excited. "Te quiero, te quiero, te quiero (I love you….)," she gushed.
"Como que 'me quieres', mujer? No te conozco! (You love me? I don't even know you!)" I asked, confused.
"No, no, not you! YOU!!!" she said, blowing kisses to a smiling Obama my t-shirt. Obama is more popular here than bullfighting and baguettes combined.

Four days after that rainy Halloween night, Obama kept us all awake until 7 am winning the US Presidential Election.

The enormous sigh of relief and gratitude we now feel is indescribable. It is the first time we can ever say we've felt true pride for our country, as we'd never before been abroad during any presidency other than the eight years of Bush disaster. We will never forget the waves of happiness and pride, the release of shame and anxiety, as we stepped out our piso door and onto Spanish streets Wednesday morning. Not only does this mean our international reputation is one step closer to restoration, but is also an incredible reflection of the progress we have made as a nation. Some might say we elected a liberal black man after eight years of Bush, but we would say a much larger part is due to a changing political climate in the US.

We've both been the butt of criticism, approached by locals young and old throughout our travels, and questioned about our country's political choices. Even during a 20-min taxi ride in Madrid, the taxista attacked us "Americanos", using plenty of dirty Spanish curse words to describe just how "jodido" we've made the rest of the world. Especially after the March 11th, 2004 Al-queda metro bombing in Madrid that lead Spain to pull out of Iraq, Spanish hold strong opinions of the war and our policies. It is tough to try to defend ourselves when Bush was re-elected shortly after the bombing.

Now, we celebrate Presidente Obama's victory over champaign with local Spanish friends and "families". Lucia, Claire's host mama, threw a big dinner party last night, a sign reading "Yes, We Can" hanging proudly in the living room. We spent two days talking US politics in our schools, the 11-year-old students confused and yawning, the Seniors wide-eyed and interested. We look forward to observing the changes in the upcoming months, gaining perspective from CNN International News in English, as well as the many Spanish news channels, newspapers and locals eager to include us.

In two weeks, we will spend Thanksgiving with our dear friend Monica in Switzerland, along with amazing Evan who's teaching in Andalucia. We've also planned a trip to Morocco and Portugal for Winter Break, and to Italy for Holy Week (Spring) vacation. Any insider tips about any of these locations would be most appreciated!

Check out our latest photos at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/clapoma/CelebratingInStyle#
Lots of love and squeezes!