Al-Andalus (aka Andalucia)

I'd like this blog to be more than just a resume of my life in Spain. So I thought I'd tell my blog readers that I've started reading an interesting book today about the Arabic invasion of Spain. The book is called "Kulturmøter i spansk historie - fra berbere til bergensere" (Knut Aukrust og Dorte Skulstad) and it mainly deals with Spanish history from 711 - 1614. The Arabic influence in Andalucia (the county I live in), or Al-Andalus as it was called before, is quite interesting. Architecture, people, food etc. Along the big roads you will also see lots of signs in Spanish and Arabic. Fascinating!

Here is a copy of the picture on the book's cover:
(Thank you, google pictures)

Do you know what the term Las Tres Culturas refers to in Spanish history?
It refers to the co-existence (sameksistens, Convivencia) that obviously existed between the Jewish, Muslim and Christian people living in what we today know as Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Enough about that!
I have to tell you two other interesting things I've done today:
1.) Had lunch with Souwie at a local Spanish restaurant today. No hablan Español alli. The place was full of Spanish workers, so you can only guess the size of the portions.
2.) Pedro is now clean! I sent him through the lavado, the automatic cleaning thingie at the Shell station down the road. How fun! It made me think of Shell in Brumunddal (where I grew up) and how scared I was of the lavado, and how much fun it was when I grew a bit older... That's life:)

Going to play tennis tonight!
Life is good, and the sun is shining, and I'm throughouly enjoying half term!

Granada

What a wonderful city! It was love at first sight! Kari, Cathrine and I enjoyed the great (kind of Spanish) atmosphere in the city, and spent several hours at the impressive Alhambra palace. A fascinating place that truly showed the Arabic influence and history...

In the Alhambra gardens!

The view from one of the (Alhambra?) castles! Me gusta Granada!
Back in the city centre, trying to find a tapas restaurant (not easy!), we passed a Catholic celebration of some kind. There was a big marching band playing really annoying instruments, and someone were holding this big Maria statue. Forgive my lack of knowledge of Catholic saints and celebration. If a reader of the blog knows what this is; please let me know! (Somehow it made me think of the opening scenes of the film "East is East"...)

It has been a great week with Kari and Cathrine. This morning Pedro and I drove them all the way to Marbella Bus Station. Below are some images from their week here in Nueva Andalucia.

Visiting Aloha College.

In Marbella:
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It is half term now, which means a week off work. Great! Can't wait to see Oda, my sister and my mum again on Thursday. They're staying five days, and I hope the weather will remain as fantastic as it has been the past three days. Lovely sunshine! :)

Visitors from Norway!

Kari and Cathrine arrived this afternoon! :) Lovely with friends visiting from Oslo!! We headed for the local tapas bar in the afternoon sun, after a nice swim in the pool. Unfortunately the really nice tapas bar was closed because of the fiesta today (San Pedro's Day). So we ended up at a restaurant I've never been to before. Nice food, and a very nice chat! Looking forward to a great week with the girls. Look at the luuuuvly things they brought from Norway:
Operamint, Melkesjokolade, Brunost, Firkløver, Lakrisbåter osv - perfect!! A taste of Norway:)

And to top it up: A few editions of A-magasinet. Lovely! I'm happy. And I can speak Norwegain an entire week, with two of my most intelligent and nerdy friends when it comes to language and literature. Great!! Pedro will definitely join us on our adventures this week:)

Bilen min!

Mi coche funciona! My car is working! Can't believe it. Mr Towing Service picked up the car (and me) this morning and took us down to workshop in El Corte Inglés (in Puerto Banus). While the mechanics changed Pedro's battery, I enjoyed un cafe con leche y mucho sol y una periodico con dos fotograficas perfectas de Señor George Clooney.

So now all the practical issues have been sorted:
- Spanish mobile phone: ok
- Internet access in my apt: ok
- Car: ok
- Hot water tank: ok
- Bank account and online banking: ok

.... and I have no excuses for not learning Spanish! :)


Here's Lisa, Amy and me last night in San Pedro, at the Feria San Pedro. It was fun! And I really enjoyed the bump cars ("radiobil")... (Photo: Lisa Burrows)

My first date with Pedro

Finally! The day had come! I was going to meet Pedro for the very first time! I really couldn't believe it! I was so excited! The preparations had involved plenty of paper work and phone calls and money. We had to make sure everything was perfect for our first date, and after living here in Spain almost two months, I finally had an appointment with the people who could introduce me to Pedro. Wow!

I knew I would need some moral support with this first meeting, so I had allied with Karol, Mariela and Paula. Jonathan had provided us with some technical equipment. (Just in case...) My first date with Pedro had to be perfect! :)

First we went to Silvia's office to sort out the final paper work. Silvia and I also popped by the insurance company to pick up some papers. And then .... we were ready... and I could feel my heart beating very fast. I was so excited!!! And nervous! Here is a picture of my three assistants outside the Norwegian school in Benalmádena.
There was a Spanish cultural evening on at the Norwegian school in Benalmádena this evening. So while the headmaster went looking for the keys, we enjoyed some proper Spanish culture presented by Norwegian kids. But I couldn't focus. The only thing on my mind was Pedro.

And then, finally, we entered what had been Pedro's house this summer. The garage! And there he was, all blue and nice. Wow! My own car! My own Pedro! Fantastic!! He's a Fiat Punto!

His battery was flat, but Mr. Headmaster managed to bump start the car for us, and Karol drove the car all the way back to Aloha College. I should have been driving, yes, I know that, but ... it was very likely that I would have stalled the motor ("kvæla motoren, på godt norsk), and then we would have been #%&¤#&/&, basically ---- since the battery would need to charge at least half an hour. Pedro behaved very well on the road from Benalmádena to Aloha College, where Karol had parked her car. He's basically just soooo nice, and I really like him!

At the college I was just going to drive him an extra round on the car park, and (luckily!) Karol waited for me. Here is a picture of me in my car, Miss Raustøl, the proud owner of her very first car ever.

And what happened?!?! I stalled the motor, and we couldn't start the car. Pedro's battery was flat! I couldn't believe it!! We were stuck, in the middle of the car park!! Unbeliavable!

LUCKILY Silvia had sorted out all my insurance papers, so I rang the towing service, spoke to someone who spoke English, and after 20 minutes a very nice man came over to help us. Well, he didn't find us at first, so I had to give directions in Spanis, something I quite enjoyed! :) He jumpstarted the car again (for free because of my insurance!), and followed me back to La Maestranza, just in case I would get problems, or stall the car. Again....

I managed to drive back to my apartment with only one minor error: No lights on! Well well, seeing as this was my first date with Pedro, I feel we did get on fairly well. So now I've left Pedro in the garage, and this weekend I will have to get a new battery for him. That's the charming aspect of being a car owner, right?!?!


Pedro in the La Maestranza garage. Lovely car, isn't it? He needs to be cleaned, of course, but I'm sure we'll have much fun together! :)

Spain's National Day!

Life in Spain is good, and requires lots of hard work! Reports are due on Thursday, and each student gets a grade in attainment, a grade in effort, and a comment (190 characters long). Yohooo!

I'm finally online again after two weeks with no Internet access in my apt. Most of my practical issues are sorted now, the only thing remaining is picking up my car, which I will do on Thursday! It is Spain's National Day today, but I haven't seen any sign of people celebrating...

The weather is absoloutely fantastic, and it's safe to say that my tan is coming along very nicely:)

Lunch and nice walk along the beaches in Marbella with Ruth and Mariela. The person in the air is me... Haha! As if.... :)
Have had my first soiree. Feels great finally to be able to have dinner guests again. Since I'm living in a 100m2 apt, there is actually space here. Fantastic!! There were 8 teachers here, and we enjoyed great food (made my sister's famous potato salat for the very first time!), and tasty drinks.

The "honeymoon days" are definitely over, and it dawns on me now that I'm actually living here. I think that's one of the reasons why I don't take that many pictures anymore. However, here are some images of my experiences the last two weeks.

This is how I looked after 2,5 hours at the local hairdresser. An extremely expensive experience (assonance...). Playing tennis with Lisa. Me gusta! Will play cardio tennis every Monday from now on. Hmmm... from next Monday. (Went to Amy's place today, instead of playing tennis.)

Picture picture on the wall.... Have put up some lovely pics of friends and family on my door. Now I can see you every time I walk past my main door.


Obviously a famous person covered under the green blanket. There was a big ceremony this afternoon, in the roundabout by the local market. Don't know who... but I took a picture in case he or she was a very famous policeman!