United Statesian

Sunrise in Marina D'or --"Vacation City" Dear Citizens of the World! Somehow I have landed on the beach of the Spanish Mediterranean coast for the month of August. It is the dream of many to spend their summer on the coast, but I have never aimed to spend much time baking under the sun. However, even though it is tough for me, I have been trying to get used to spending a month at the beach. I am happy to report that there other people here -- a lot of others. One of these days I will have to go down and get some pictures. Yesterday, we sat on the beach for an hour, without being able to actually sea the Med through the mass of people and umbrellas. I leave you with a parting shot of starting my summer vacation in Torrico (el pueblo). It is geographically the furthest spot from the beach as you can get in Spain, but the cousin has a pool with a great view. The first of many "jumpshots" to come in the future: The United Statesian

Dear Citizens of the world! It's Spring...time for Spanish country weddings! I have been to a few weddings but this one took the cake for length and for... rowdyness. Any celebration in Spain involves food. The wedding was three days of eating, but with a ceremony and white dress somewhere in the middle. The white dress The festivities started with a long dinner, dancing and drinking until the wee hours on Friday. Saturday morning's ceremony was "traditional" but the tossing of rice and rose pedals became a pumelling that had everyone diving for cover. After a snack of rosquilas (the local version of donuts, but with more grease), we headed off to lunch. In between the various courses, the bride and groom were "forced" by their rowdy friends to do all manner of rituals. The groom being paraded around the reception wearing only a diaper.. . After lunch came dancing, drinking, a siesta and then more eating that evening. The grooms friends cutting his t...

Los Quintos of 2010 getting ready for the changeover by painting designated surfaces Dear citizens of the world, Although it might not seem like it, we are living in times of relative peace. European nations such as Spain and France gave up manditory military service at the end of the 20th century. However, traditions in Spain die hard. Los Quintos are the people who are turning 18 over the coming year. In the past, they would be weighed and measured in the city hall for their military service. Those found to be too short or too fat might be pardoned. In general, most would have to go and the unlucky ones would end up oversees in Western Sahara. The name Quintos comes from 1/5. Spanish Kings in the 15th century ordered that one-fifth of all men " Contribute Blood " by doing military service. They did not beat around the bush when they gave it that name... Los Quintos have changed in name and form in modern times. Now it is often written with a K as Kintos (Email and SMS texti...

Dear citizens of the world, Almond harvest time has come and gone. We spent a couple days in the pueblo , collecting almonds. It is hard work, but I like it -- well, once a year. This is a photo of the almonds while they are still on the tree with both the outer soft shell and the inner hard shell (as seen in the first picture above). Why is collecting them fun? The process starts by laying large nets under the tree, then I get to use a long stick to whack the tree until it gives up all its' almonds. End of fun part... Then the outer shells have to be taken off (sometimes not so easy). There is then a drying-out period and the last leg is to break the hard inner shell to get the "almond meat" out... careful to not crush the almond in the process. Eat and enjoy all year long. The harvest this year has been bad because there was not enough rain. Many almonds are "fruitless." And a violent downpoor at the end of the season stripped some trees of the fruit just be...