Visita de la Madre

The past week has been a whirlwind of tapas, photos, laughter and most of all rental car adventures. My mom arrived last Thursday, and I was a little nervous about whether she would appreciate my humble abode as much as I do. I made sure to tidy up and even washed the windows. She did. The view from our apartment and the location were a hit. Of course, as mothers do, she also had some suggestions for how to move the furniture, and left me stocked with extra lightbulbs, bleach, towels and candles (purchases I would have put off myself).

We scoped out the happenin' tapas joints in town, and found our favorite: Maestro's. Where the soccer game blasts in the corner, and the owner with the slicked-back gray hair and white chefs coat is flying back and forth behind the bar getting peoples orders. Our selection: Meatballs and fried ham and cheese croquettes. Delicious. We went back that same day for more. And the next day. We also tried the highly recommended Lechugita, "little lettuce" where the specialty is a quarter of a head of lettuce doused in a vinegarette that you eat with you fingers. mmm. Our mornings were leisurely as well.. sleeping in until unfathomable hours and strolling down to the bakery on the corner for coffee and a pastry. We sat next to the same local Spanish man two days in a row.

This was all after my mom arrived late Thursday night, and Jen and I had appointments for our visas in Malaga the next day. We planned to leave at 9:30 so that we would get there with time to spare. All goes accordingly. When my mom and I get out to the car, we discover we had left the lights on. Rental Car Adventure #1: Dead battery. So without missing a beat we started asking every person and car driving by how we can get some jumper cables and where the mechanic is. We walk a couple blocks to the mechanic, and explain the dilemma excitedly, asking if we can borrow the jumper cables. "You know how to use them, mujer?" he asks. Oh yes, and mom whips out her drivers license to show we will return it. He laughs as we pile into his minivan and drive over to the car. Fixed. Presto. We are off and running. Until I realize 20 minutes into the drive that I forgot my passport. Oops. Turn around; so much for leaving ourselves plenty of time. Once we started approaching the city of Malaga (about 2 hours away by a windy barely-two-lane road) we realize we dont really know where we are going once we get to the city. Rental Car Adventure # 2: We need to find out where the place was. The street was not on the map, and we had one landmark to go by. Stopping at every red light and every corner to ask someone else for directions. Jen shouting out the window to truck drivers. Mom whirling around roundabout after roundabout. We asked at least 25 people for directions. Mom's motto is "measure twice, cut once." In other words keep asking so we don't have to backtrack. Jen shared with us her mom's lesson: speak louder. And with teamwork we found the street. Just in the knick of time. We get close and have driven by twice without seeing it but our appointment time is upon us, so Jen and i hop out of the car and are running down the street to the police station. Barrel down the hall and discover that there is another office of extranjeros a couple blocks away! we are running again, and assert ourselves past the security guard, and get a number (even though we had an appointment) and are in a room filled with hundreds of people, and 10 times more bureaucratic and more chaotic than the DMV. Another run around the corner to the liquor store to make photocopies of every page of our passports. Even the blank ones. Una locura! I am so anxious, as the shopowner copies each page in between selling a liter of beer to this man, a chunk of unrefridgerated cheese to the next woman, and bubblegum to the children. We were the very last people to be seen! Phew! The rest of the afternoon was leisurely sightseeing in the monstrosity of high rises and fog that compiles Malaga. The highlight was a Rodan exhibit that we stumbled upon. We were very bias in our view of Malaga. A large seaside city, we felt very grateful at the end of the day to return to our quaint mountain top community.

After a day back in Ronda, we decided we needed to escape to play city mouse for a day or two, so Mom and I hopped in the car and headed to Granada. Compared with the more preppy and homogeneous matching socks and large colorful ribbons in the hair that populate the pueblo of Ronda, Granada is sprinkled with dreadlocks, flowing skirts and stripped hippie shirts. The fancy bright bakeries of Ronda with exquisite fruit tarts, are replaced by arabic tea shops in Granada with hookahs and cozy cushioned benches with low wooden tables. After following signs to the center of the city we came upon Rental Car Adventure #3: Finding Parking. After discovering our prime parking spot was actually a designated handicapped space we were sent on the run-around through the narrowest one way cobblestoned streets of all time. We paused for a second before entering what seemed to be clearly a pedestrian street. Jam packed with tourists, we had nowhere else to go, and justr barreled our way through, causing pedestrians to lean up as close as possible to the sides of the street to let us past. And there was a line of car following suite behind us. Up and around again, we found a spot. We had time to peruse through the streets by foot, and see the sights, find a hotel with a view of the plaza, and eat delicious tapas. We even managed to make room for ice cream too. After moving the car once more, we became pros at maneuvering in the streets, and did not hesitate going up over the curb through an alley, squeezing into a parking spot next to a construction site, and learned how to navigate past the moving pole that rises from the ground in front of certain stop lights. Perhaps we became a little too zealous about going up narrow streets, as we turned up what we thought was a through street, but turned out to be a sidewalk with stairs in the middle! (Rental Car Adventure #4) And of course there was out bank getaway, Rental Car Adventure #5: the time that I tried to hop out at a red light and get out money from a bank on the corner. But I can't see the word on the ATM because of the glare, and don't get the money in time. The light turns green, and the police man starts whistling at mom at the front of the line. I am trying to press the buttons as fast as I can, while I keep glancing back, and there is mom - going around and around the roundabout - waiting for me. The card finally spits out. I dash across the street and mom creeps towards me as I squeeze through the people waiting at the crosswalk, open the door to the backseat, and jump in the car. We are off. Phew. Another close one. We were roaring laughing about the show we put on for the onlookers.

The highlight of Granada, and certainly one of the most magnificent things I have seen, was The Alhambra. Since reservations need to be made several days in advance, we woke up early and were in line for tickets at 7:15 am to The Alhambra, an Arabic fortress/palace from the 14th century gets 8,000 visitors a day! And it is entirely understandable why. The intricate artwork and architecture is magnificent, as well as the brilliant colors and elaborate incorporation of water, and garden space. It was also so interesting to see how people were living not very long ago, and put into context the history and reality of the people in this region. It definitely whet my appetite to learn more about this era and region, which is just rich with religious, environmental and political complexities. And really, we could learn so much from the actions and philosophy of these past communities. A very worthwhile trip.

We returned expediently (after one last trip to the ice cream stand) so that I would have time to work on lesson plans. Mom tagged along to my English classes, and immediately understood why I am enjoying my experience here so much. She saw the charm of the students, the kindness of the teachers, and the wonderful atmosphere that I am in. It was very reaffirming to see that she also appreciates the classes, teachers, my friends, my flat, and of course my town, Ronda. And it was wonderful to have a familiar face in town, to whom I could show off my city, and of course share in wild adventures.