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SPECIAL PERSONAL MEMORIES
Isabel (a wonderful friend & colleague !)
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Isabel
is such a special friend and colleague. She was very
helpful even before I met her. She found the host families
for the students and she was there for me and the students each
for any questions we may have. She also helped me
organized the student conversation partner program the
going away parties. She teaches English as a second
Language at SAFA. Isabel is from Ubeda but lived in many
different cities in Spain before relocating back to Ubeda after
she married, Manolo. Isabel has 2 beautiful children
Ignacio y Laura. On the last weekend, Manolo and Isabel took Jeremy and me to El Parador de Jaén. What a unforgettable day ! The views were impressive and the restaurant super fancy. Manolo and Isabel treated us to the best food we had a ages. We had Bacalao (fish) and the best appetizers, bread, wine and dessert. After Jaén we visited Baeza where they were getting ready to celebrate Palm Sunday and were decorating everywhere in the streets. |
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JAEN'S PARADOR ( Un unforgettable site & lunch)
 Manolo e Isabel |
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THE JIMENEZ FAMILY
| The Jiménez family was fantastic to us! Sr. Jiménez's mom prepared a feast for us for lunch one day. Her torta de queso, (cheese cake) is the best I ever had. Luisa, Taylor's mom and Mr. Jiménez's aunt also was super nice. She checked on me almost everyday and had me over for caracoles, (snails) and paella at least 3 times. She also drove me around a lot. She is very nice and full of energy. She is also a fantastic painter. She painted a gorgeous, olive tree canvas for Taylor to bring back to the States as her going away present. They also opened very nice bottles of wine to accompany these wonderful meals. |
MY HOST FAMILY (Mari & Paco)
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family was a very young couple, Paco and Mari. Paco was 20 and
Mari 19, therefore, I decided to call them brother and sister
because mom and dad would not work at all. Let's just say that
I am at least a decade older than them. Mari turned 20 while I
stayed with them. They are very sweet. They are planning
on getting married sometime soon and they bought a house in Santo
Tomé, a town about 30 minutes away. They work very hard and
were hardly ever home. Paco is a mechanic for Ford and Mari is a
cook at her brother's bar Paquillos. Many of the students spent a
lot of time at Paquillos because Paco is Trevor's host dad best
friend. Also, the food is very good, especially the fried calamari.
Paco (my host brother ) also worked at the bar from 8: 00 until
closing time. Like most Spaniards I know, Paco and Mari are heavy
smokers, which made it hard for me not to be bothered by the smoke.
Smoking is the only down aspect I see in Spanish culture. Paco
and Mari have an apartment in Ubeda where I stayed with them.
From my window I could see the entire bullfight ring. One
Saturday there was a concert and I just opened my window and enjoyed
the music without paying.
Mari's parents were super sweet to me. They took me to their home in Santo Tomé twice and they cooked for me. They cook a la lumbre, meaning that they use their fireplace as a wood stove. They made arroz asopado con mariscos (Rice with seafood) which was excellent. They also grow most of their vegetables in their backyard. It was nice for a change to visit someone in the country side in Spain. Everywhere I have been before is more like a city with Pisos, (apartments). |
