Pirate Party Tonight... Arrrrr

by September 8, 2010 9:00 AM

ARRRRRRRR is the word of the day! Pirate Dinner tonight. OH there is nothing like the smell of shrimp to clean in the morning! Everything has to be made as much as possible in advance because we have to get the townhouse ready for the first group of students arriving tomorrow AND one is a vegetarian so have to make roasted veg stock, chick stock, flan and sangria for the class... The Path to Paella on Friday.

This time of year is awkward. I am ready to have the dinners be over and focus on the students yet I still have to finish the dinners! Tonight and then one more Retro and private dinner here are TERMINADO for the year!

I think the reason I enjoy the culinary groups is because many have never seen this part of Spain or experienced stepping back in time and seeing how these wonderful people live.

Last night our Spanish friends were telling us what life was like when they were young. They are 50 years old and they remember a time when there was no running water or toilets. There was a spigot at the end of the street. This was why you bathed only once a week. Water was brought in, heated in the kitchen and the bath was ready. Saturday was the BIG bath day! They also shared that most homes when modernized had one spigot in the patio. They would use the bathroom in a bedpan and pour it in the drain in the patio. Those who lived in our village often would throw the contents into the garden for the chickens. Even simple things like electricity was rare. Here they call it "la luz" the light. Your bill from the electrical company even says "la luz", this was because everyone had one light bulb in the house.

So in summary, although Spain has exploded with development, culturally, it is still like stepping back in time here in Torrox Pueblo, Andalucia. OK gotta get back to work.