Candeleda

As Alberto and Solete escaped to Ibiza (tropical island between Spain and Italy), Solete's parents (Antonio and Marisol) joined the kiddos and I in Boadilla on Tuesday around lunch time. One of the very first things Antonio said to me was "you are very beautiful"...I like him. The plan was to drive with the gramps to their country house in Candeleda on Wednesday and anticipate the surprise party there on Saturday.

Before leaving for Candeleda Wednesday afternoon, Marisol and Antonio left Alvaro and I for a solid 5-hour period to go grocery shopping for the party. Since when has grocery shopping EVER in the history of grocery stores taken 5 hours??!! I guess this was more annoying at the time since I had planned to do all my packing that morning and ended up having to throw everything in a bag 15 minutes before we left instead. This is when Spanish time can be really inconvenient.

In just under 2 hours, we had already arrived in Candeleda, a quaint little town in the mountains southwest of Madrid. As Antonio informed me about their land being the third highest point in Spain, etc., I was too busy swatting flies to catch the rest of his schpeel. Never in my life have I seen more bugs in one place. I always had at least three of those bad boys landing on me (or the food) at any given time, which made feeling clean nearly impossible-- pool, shower, or otherwise. Although Marisol and Alberto didn't own any farm animals, a toxic barnyard stench hit me like a punch in the face when I the entry way. Fourteen homeless cats...

(just hanging out on the roof)

...three dogs, seven puppies, a block of potent, molding cheese the size of a beach ball, and the full leg of ham displayed on the kitchen table didn't help either. The odor cooked in the humidity, revitalizing the beast. The upside to the stagnant heat was that Ale and I never had to make our beds since we never once pulled down the covers. [Dad, I thought about you a lot this weekend because I think you absolutely would have freaked. Everything was out of order in cluttered chaos.] Perhaps ironically, however, Candeleda offered some of the most breathtaking views I've seen in Spain (and that's saying a lot)!

The first few days in Candeleda were characterized by a madhouse of children. Marisol, Nacho (Solete's brother) and I tag-teamed duty with seven cousins, all under age 9 (three under 3-years-old). I don't remember this being in the job description. Awaiting the arrival of Solete and Alberto, we spent the days swimming in the pool (the view reminded me of those infinity pools at paradise resorts)...

...catching frogs in the pond...

...playing with Yoko's 2-week-old puppies, "visiting the chickens," watching Spain dominate the World Cup games projected on a bed sheet...

(me and Ale)

...eating far too many homemade french fries, falling asleep each night hand-in-hand with Alejandra (only after being forced to tickle her arms and tell her at least 3 stories of course), and forever running after small children.

At last, Saturday was party day! Once everyone had arrived, my new friend Vero and I guessed we were somewhere between 50 and 60 people, filling up five long tables lining the perimeter of the back yard. Basically, we ate....all day. It definitely gave Thanksgiving a run for its money. We all sat down around 3:30 and didnt get up until close to 6 or so. The spread consisted of three different types of salads--fruit, potato, and seafood--three types of sausage, two types of cheese, green olives, potato chips, shrimp, perceves (weird seafood from Galicia I would not recommend), and of course, the essentials: bottomless breadbasket, beer, wine, cakes, and coffee. I may have accidentally eaten rabbit without knowing it, which upsets me more than I can express in words. I didn't know what I was doing, there were so many meats! It's hard to know, but I'm not sure I'd like to.

After lunch, I reluctantly pulled on my bathing suit to take a dip with the kiddos in the pool, only to return to snacking until dinner was "finally" served around 11. An entire day like this would never happen in the States! Isn't the time-frame one of the few vital points on any decent American party invitation? What American adults would hang out for a day-long birthday party? Who would even stay for a day-long wedding? Maybe we have too many other things going on to carve that much time out of our schedules, even for loved ones. In this sense, I think the Spaniards have it right.

(1/2 of the guests)

Tributes to Solete included a video slideshow (complete with a choreographed dance of the relatives and Alberto's debut in a blonde whig and tights)--not sure if this was some twisted inside joke or what. I didn't ask. Suso spent weeks on photoshop to enlarge and reconstruct a beautiful photo of Solete, using thousands of smaller pictures of family and friends. Finally, her loving guests were thrilled to present her with a brand new Mac computer to replace her old Dell and aid her work planning. Friends and family traveled from as far as Galicia and Valencia to honor Solete.

It's a strange thing to go to someone else's family reunion, especially when you've only just met your nuclear family connection barely one month prior....oh yeah, and in a foreign country where no one speaks your native tongue to top it all off. My strategy was to not think about it too much and just enjoy myself, which seemed to work in my favor since by and large I was accepted as one of the family anyway.

Antonio (Solete's dad) enjoyed calling me out a lot this weekend, reminding everyone (in case they had forgotten) that I was a foreigner. In the middle of lunch, he'd ask for a toast from the "American beauty"! or tell me to sing "Happy Birthday" for everyone in English. Likewise, he was just a little too eager to put friends and family alike on the spot as he introduced me as "the girl from America, isn't she beautiful!?"--beauty seems to be of utmost importance to Spaniards...that or he probably just felt bad he had forgotten my name. On Sunday, he even had me switch seats to sit next to his "favorite" (and conveniently single) son for lunch. I'd say Antonio spotted a match made in heaven, our rich conversation beginning and ending with "Could you please pass the water?"

As I mentioned before, I met a girl there named Veronica. She, like I, only knew a small handful of people and so we confided in one another's initial awkwardness. Spending six years working for American Express in London had enabled her to speak nearly perfect English. She was anxious to brush up on her skills and I was anxious to take a break from Spanish and let her. The entire time we talked, however, I felt like I was doing something illegal...a very strange feeling to have when speaking your native tongue.

Alvaro (Solete's youngest) also shares the same birthday as his mama. We celebrated Alvarito turning the big three with a pinata, ice cream cake, and goody bags.

As an extra treat for his guests, the birthday prince chose to pass out his party favors in the nude...to each his own, it's his birthday.

I keep asking how old he is now and he insists he's not a day over one. His famous line is, "Soy pequeno" (I'm little). Never before have I met a child who's accepted their youth with such grace...he is wise beyond his years.

Leaving Candeleda sweaty, tan, bug-bitten, and uncomfortably full, I was struck once again by how generous Spaniards are with family and friends (and me by association). Even in a devastating economic crisis, Marisol and Antonio welcomed swarms of people into their home to feast on food they provided solely themselves, to swim, and even spend several nights. I watched in awe as they loaded up their guests' cars with boxes of fresh produce and bottles of wine to take home with them...as if they hadn't already given more than enough.

All in all it was a great weekend, but I'm glad to be back in Madrid once again. If you think of it, please pray for me this week. Solete has already warned me she'll be gone every day into the evening, so I'm hitting the ground running and with little time off. I'll have all 3 kiddos and am expected to do English lessons everyday as well. YIKES!