The Grass is Always Greener...

After having recently visited Barcelona, its all I can think about.  I just wish that this family lived there instead of Malaga.  Malaga is nice in the warmer months because of its proximity to the sea, but the beaches here aren't particularly pretty.  The prettiest beaches are outside Malaga, like the one I went to in Nerja.  Plus, if we're being honest, Barcelona has a mighty fine beach itself.

At the time of choosing an au pair family, I was mostly concerned with the family and not the city.  I knew I wouldn't want to live in the suburbs (and Malaga is a fair sized city).  But after experiencing Spain through being in Barcelona, I wish so badly that I was experiencing my year in a city like that.  It really hit me when we were in a Starbucks in the gothic neighbourhood of Barcelona... I just thought to myself "how awesome would it be to come here after Spanish class and study, with all the people walking by, and drip coffee instead of espresso-based-tiny-cups-of-coffee, in a city where I wouldn't be treated like such a tourist and I could blend in to the city's mosaic".  I'm definitely a city person, and I love all the people and the hustle bustle of a city, as well as all the opportunities.  There are so many more interesting people, restaurants and bars in Barcelona than Malaga (obviously).  Plus there is a subway system! Ohhhh how I miss the subway.  On Saturdays in Barcelona it runs all night! Genius.  The tourists are different in Barcelona.  They are like the tourists in Toronto... the city is so big that it just sucks them all in, and they don't seem so visible and they don't seem to matter anymore.  There are so many different cultures its not easy to see who belongs and who doesn't. 

In Malaga, I sometimes feel like such an outsider.  People here treat tourists differently.  And here, in the south of Spain, it is really obvious if you aren't a local.  Everyone here is so Spanish.  This is like the Florida of Europe... all the old white people from England, Ireland, the Nordic countries and Germany retire here.  And all the major cruise ships dock here, so there is a constant stream of tourists coming into the city, and Malaga isn't big enough to absorb them, so they compartmentalize them.  You're either a local or a tourist here. And you are treated accordingly.

But, I realize the grass is always greener.  For one thing, if I lived in Barcelona I would be learning to speak Catalan... which is completely different than Spanish.  I could not understand any of the Catalan that was in Barcelona, and I can understand Spanish quite well.

**disclaimer: I am happy in Malaga.  It is very different than Canada, which is what I wanted to experience.  And big cities like Barcelona aren't that far away, if I get 'city-sick' and feel the need to recharge.  I just really have the itch to be in a city right now, and European cities are a thing of beauty.  I'm actually starting to consider coming back to Europe again after going back to Canada for a while.  That is, if I can get a job here...
But that's another post.  If I ever get around to writing it.

Recent Foodstuff.

I tried coquinas, because I was really hungry and it was the only appetizer ordered at the restaurant besides bread.  I have to say, they were pretty tasty.  I couldn't get past the consistency though... something about it was kind of grainy and slimy at the same time.  But like I said, the taste was spot on!

I have been eating calamari as well, usually because I am hungry.  I don't like how chewy it is, and it kind of reminds me of rubber.  But when it is battered and fried I guess it's alright.  Besides, it seems to be one of the few kinds of seafood that doesn't look very much like the animal or organism in its natural environment.

I finally found peanut butter here... I bought it at a German store in Nerja.  It's really good... it tastes like natural peanut butter but it is nice and smooth and the oil doesn't seem to separate as easily.  I am enjoying it on bread here for a snack :)

I am drinking more milk here than ever.  It fills me up, and it goes well with the abundance of chocolate and bread and nutella that this family stocks up on.  Plus I put it in my cereal and call it a meal.  The milk here is not found in the refridgerated section of the supermarket... and you don't put it in the fridge until after you open it.  Weird, huh?

Also, I had shrimp again for the first time in a long time.  I didn't like it again.  So I won't have it again for a while.  I was going to try snails, but I really wasn't into it, and I almost 100% knew I wouldn't like them.  I tried a stew that was made with pigs feet and stomach... and I really liked it! Mind you, I didn't know what meat was in it until after I finished!

People keep trying to make me taste prawns.  But I won't. Ever. Eww.

Oops!

Where do you begin when you haven't updated your travel blog in over a month? I can't say I've been busy, because my life over here isn't really a 'busy' life.  I guess I'm a temperamental blogger... sometimes I get urges to write about what I'm experiencing, but most of the time I couldn't be bothered with trying to put my experiences in paragraphs.  I realized something though - I consistently use photography as a way to document my experiences.  If I feel like I am going to experience a new and exciting thing (where taking pictures is allowed), I just have to bring my camera.  I am addicted to photographing my new experiences.  And my outlet for sharing those photos seems to be Facebook.  I like that all my friends can see my pictures there, and I like receiving feedback on the pictures.  Writing just isn't really my thing I guess, as much as I hoped I could be an avid travel blogger.  I will still keep this blog, and update occasionally, but I felt like I owed an explanation for why I haven't been using this medium to share my experiences.