an ode to kebabs

You know what I’m talking about, if you fall into one of the following categories:

• If you have ever traveled to a pricey European city and tried to find a cheap meal
• If you are a vegetarian in the land of ham
• If its 4am and you are starving from a night of dancing and its the only place open
• if you are a devout street foodie
• if you’re friends with someone who has been to Europe and its all they talk about (“I would kill for a kebab right now”)

It is the traveler’s companion, the backpacker’s sustenance and the drunk’s late night salvation. Its the kebab stand. And this, is an ode to the kebab (and its cousin, falafel).

In the window, you can sometimes see huge hunks of meat, spinning on a skewer spiked through the middle. Depending on the time of day, there may be a small crowd or or a huge line. The menu is sparse, but it really only needs a few things: kebab, falafel, fries, drinks and glossy 8 x 10 pictures of each. *Eating at a kebab place is in direct contradiction to my firm belief that it is not a good idea to eat at restaurants that advertise with said photos… but here, I make an exception.

Sit down, stand up or take it to go – and spend a mere 4 or 5 euros for a “balanced meal.” For you herbivores, there is the falafel – a glorious concoction of chickpeas, spices and magic. Try to ignore the meat on a stick – this is the best sandwich you will ever have. Similar to the gyros of Greek American fame, kebabs can be beef or chicken, but whatever you choose – get it with the works. Lettuce, tomato, onions, cabbage and the two sauces. And get fries. I don’t care if you can see the freezer bag they come from – these are amazing potatoes.

It’s the sauce. I am convinced it is laced with habit forming drugs. Know why? Because I can’t savor these treats. I find it physically impossible to take my time and savor all the flavors. No one can! I snarf them. The world ceases to exist and a few minutes after the first bite there is nothing but sauce on my fingers and lettuce at my feet. What just happened? I look at the tinfoil disaster in front of me – puddles of sauce an assorted cabbage litter the bottom. Dabbing at my guilty face with a paper napkin I am both full and happy, and still have some money left over. Now where is the nearest churros place? priorities here, people

Two additional points to make here — my own father is now hooked on the goodness of kebabs as a result of his recent trip to Spain. The other point being that Sevilla is severely lacking in the arena of late night cuisine. Granada is jam-packed with kebab stands ready for late night revelers and the occasional backpacker, whereas Sevilla seems restricted to the After Hours McDonald’s menu, or god forbid, the KFC (where a friend was once refused food on the account of the chicken being “ugly” and the workers were tired of serving). Show me to the nearest Wawa .. approx 3,000 miles away.

Thanks to fellow blogger budajest for her recent post on kebabs in Budapest .. I am looking forward to dining there someday soon and following her recommendations to the letter.

carnival catholics

What is carnival? Through various sources, I have gathered an interesting selection of knowledge on what exactly this phenomenon is, so I’m going to try to break it down for you.

First of all – Carnaval in Spain is Capital C and three a’s. Here in Andalucia it heralds the beginning of a whole host of parties. When I traveled from Rome to Madrid this past year I sat next to a delightful Spanish lady who was more than happy to tell me exactly how I should make my way through the springtime, hopping from festival to festival.

Carnaval kicks off the month of February in Cadiz, the province just south of Sevilla. In my opinion you should then head east for the epic Festival de Las Fallas in Valencia, held in March. Then comes Semana Santa, holy of holies, and most famous in Sevilla for its pomp, circumstance and tradition. Here follows La Feria de Abril, also a Sevilla staple and depending on who you talk to – the sevillanos claim to fame. But wait, there’s more. There are flower filled patio competitions during Cruces del Mayo in Cordoba in the month of May, and the Festival de los Caballos in horse-crazy Jerez de la Frontera. Let’s not forget the pilgrimage to El Rocio in Huelva in June, closely followed by Corpus Christi. Before you know it, it’s Christmas and you are planning next year’s Carnaval costume.

I don’t believe anyone has ever said that the Spanish don’t know how to party. That’s because they could teach the rest of us a thing or two.

Carnaval appears to be a close cousin to the US Mardi Gras, most famous in the city of New Orleans. While it is not the same riot of purple, green and gold – it is indeed colorful. Think of Carnaval as Halloween for Spaniards. There are costumes and face paint, but no candy or trick-or-treating. Likewise (thankfully?) none of the breast-baring that goes on in Louisiana.  For some reason, the Spanish have Halloween pegged as a time when people dress up in scary costumes. When a friend stepped out in a Burger King costume, they were baffled. “But Halloween costumes are supposed to be scary!” It is here in the last days of October that we came to the conclusion Carnaval is reserved for the funny stuff. Two Halloweens in one year? Well done, Spain!

If you look to the historic roots of this event, carnival is the precursor to the season of Lent. If you went to catechism classes when you were in elementary school, you recognize Lent as the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday where you can’t have M&Ms. Somewhere along the line the Church decided it was only right for its parishioners to abandon something for 40 days in an effort to relate to the suffering of Christ and company. How that turned into giving up chocolate, french fries or sex for a few weeks – I’m really not sure.

Religion in Spain (wikipedia)

Let’s start with Ash Wednesday. Where are the ashes? Am I not in a Catholic country? In the US, many people observe this day of obligation on the Catholic calendar and step out at lunch to receive communion and the tell tale touch of ashes on their foreheads. So here I am, in Spain, and there are no ashes. What? I had the same reaction in 2004 when walking the streets of Granada. I thought church was a big deal here .. did I miss something? This year I saw one woman, with a small smudge high into her hairline, and thought AH HA, I found one! But really .. just one? More concerning to me is where are the donuts? Fat Tuesday is Faschnacht Day, after all.

While I have never attended carnival here in Spain, I think the end result is costumes and drinking. In watching my students describe carnival to their pen pals the main focus seems to be “people dressed in types that aren’t normal” “a parade through the streets” “people are singing” “people dressed in costumes following cars decorated and singing.” This sounds an awful lot like the other parties .. but with silly costumes poking fun at current events instead of flamenco attire. And no donuts.

Some links of interest:

• Gerry keeps his spanish-fiestas website up to date and full of information. I circle back to him frequently when planning trips to other cities and provinces.
• I love this collection of carnival posters. I am equally besotted with Feria de Abril posters from Sevilla as well as the Corrida del Toros annoucements for the bullfighting season.
• Wikipedia does a decent job of explaining Carnival in Cadiz, right down to the chirigotas – which one of my professors participated in!
• This site tells a story which I did not know — Carnaval was banned by the dictator Franco for 40 years! An interesting history of the festival(s).

Q&A: show me the money

on getting paid, making a budget & fiscal survival in Spain

Q: How’s the pay? Are you able to make ends meet?

A: As an auxiliar working 12 hours a week, I get paid 700 euros a month. At this time that is the equivalent of approx $970 USD. Some of you are probably thinking of your rent payments and wondering if I am surviving on bread and water. Remember that the standard of living is noticeably different here in Sevilla. Take care not to include this statement with other major Spanish cities because Madrid and Barcelona are much pricier. I share a 3 BR apartment with two other people and am only responsible for my share of internet and electric on top of that. To see a typical breakdown of expenditures, check out this post from October.

Regarding making ends meet, it is fairly simple to blast through this kind of money. Going out frequently, or buying a new pair of boots adds up in a hurry. That being said, I am conscious of my choices on a daily basis — do I need that from the grocery store? Will it spoil before I get the chance to eat it? Most noticeably, it has changed the way I shop for groceries — it’s a huge change for me to be in a place where I can walk over to the store if I need bread or milk. So I buy less and tend to shop more often, purchasing only the things I need in the immediate future.

Q: How often do you get paid? Do you receive an actual check?

A: We get paid at the beginning of the month, or sometimes at the tail end. It varies because our checks are physically signed by the director before they go to the bank. If he is at a conference or we have a holiday, the check isn’t signed and we don’t get paid. There are some schools that issue a paper check, which is extremely difficult when the banks are only open from 9 am to 2 pm on weekdays and we are at work during these times. My school offers direct deposit, and this is a blessing. It means I can check my deposit online through my bank’s website and it also means that I don’t physically have to receive a check. Blissfully, it also means my bank account can be replenished while I’m traveling – and that is worth its weight in gold.

Q: Are you living solely on your paycheck or do you have any additional income?

A: My paycheck is supplemented substantially by my efforts in private tutoring. I cannot stress enough how rewarding it is as an experience (and not just financially). It was also relatively easy to do, as I mentioned here when I first ventured into tutoring back in October. To give you an idea of how lucrative this actually can be, here’s the breakdown of my private classes. I am tutoring three people: a 40 year old businessman, a 31 year old publicist and a 9 year old girl. The average price for private lessons is between 12 and 15 euros an hour. I see the 9 year old once a week for an hour at 12 euros each session; the 40 year old for 90 minutes at a time, up to 3 times a week for 15 euros each session and the 31 year old twice a week for 60-90 minutes at a time for up to 18 euros a session.

Even with my excessive traveling at the end of February, I still made 160 euros that month. This is cash in my wallet that I can use for groceries, a bus trip or a cup of coffee without worrying about tapping into my bank account. Three cheers for English!

Q: Do you still maintain an American bank account?

A: Yes. I am still responsible for a significant amount of bills back home in Real Life – including but not limited to a car payment, student loans and other fun things. Unfortunately my Spanish debit card does not work for online purchases, which is idiotic, and also one of the largest oversights I could have ever made. The flights and trains and hotels I purchase go on my American credit cards, which also means the charges are in USD and depend on the current exchange rate, and get paid through my American account.

I have not yet tried to send money back and forth between accounts, but I’m sure it will be an adventure so I will share that info when I attempt it. Going forward I will switch to an international bank to avoid ATM withdrawal fees and find a debit card that allows me to make online purchases. Did you know they also don’t use checkbooks here? Very strange. But they DO have an automated machine that prints out a checkbook balance for you if you go into the bank to complete a transaction. You know, during the five minutes they are actually open during the day.

Q: How are you doing your taxes?

A: In the last fiscal year I was a full time employee, so I still have a W2 to deal with in addition to student loan interest and other accounts. Luckily, my family uses a marvelous accountant who is taking care of my taxes … so I was only concerned with the collection of all the necessary paperwork.

Q: How can you afford to travel?

A: Traveling while living abroad is a high priority for me. It makes me happy and I have no problem spending the money I’ve earned to get to great places and see amazing things. So if that means I don’t go out to eat for a week or two, that’s fine. If it means I pick up some more tutoring on the side, that’s fine too. Watching the airlines fares for flexible dates rather than fixed ones is key, and so are the sites I mention so often when travel planning. Being aware of a tighter budget has also made me more receptive to things like couch surfing, and networking amongst friends to find a free place to rest my head. This is an incomparable benefit to having friends abroad – I love both hosting and being hosted. There is something special about showing someone your life and where you live, just as the local connection is so important in a new place.

To conclude..
.. yes you can survive here on what they pay you if you live carefully and are fiscally responsible. Keep in mind I started with a specific amount from the US as start up, not to mention back up (if you remember the horror stories of people not being paid until December). Don’t let money hold you back from an experience like this!