Badajoz

Today I have been catching up on all the letters long overdue. I bought myself some new stamps and buckled down. This morning Louis and I were assigned cities in Spain. Problem is, they are different ones! At first we were really nervous, but turns out they are only 1 hour away from each other, and the trains will make it an easy commute. I'm writing this with wet nails, and not only are they getting smudged up, but my computer is in danger of eternally wearing grey nail polish. What am I thinking? Why can't I just write this later!? Its because I will be teaching in Badajoz, Spain, and I am just too excited to sit and watch the paint dry, or peel, or for it to do anything! I've been scouring the internet for info on Badajoz, and the region in general, but haven't found too much. Maybe its better that way. I think we will be leaving early September, and I'll find out then. Yippee, yippee!

Chia

Its been a bit since I've blogged, but here we go. My charger went missing for a bit, and when it made a reappearance our internet modem crashed. So no internet or computer until now. What have I been doing without technology? What is there to do?!?!?!?! I started drinking chia seeds. I was eating dinner with a friend when she stirred these weird little blobs into her glass of water. I stared at them till she gave me some of my own, and it was so strange. They start out seed-like, but in a few minutes they begin to gel, and this doesn't describe it just right, but they become like little bobas. She said they retain water and keep you hydrated. Also, the Tarahumara in Northern Mexico drink them before their long runs. I was intrigued and headed to Whole Foods (because no where else I knew had them) and picked up a little packet. When I got there I asked where I could find them, and the woman asked me if I was drinking them because Doctor Oz told me to. I guess he drinks them too. Packet in hand I headed home and had a glass. Have I felt a difference? No, not really. But, I do like the way they taste. Thats a pretty vague review. But here is what I found out about them via internet:

1. Nutritious. Chia seed provides ample calcium and protein to your tissues. The seeds are also rich in boron, which helps the body assimilate and use calcium. The nutrients also support proper brain functioning.

2. Water loving. The seed can soak up ten times its weight in water. Do this fun experiment. Put one tablespoon of chia seed in a cup of water and stir. Wait a few hours and see what happens. When inside your body, the seeds help you stay hydrated longer, and retain electrolytes in your bodily fluids.

3. Easily digestible. The shells are easily broken down, even when swallowed whole. This is an improvement over flax seed, which have to be ground up to be digested properly. If you eat flax seed whole, it will just pass through.

4. Concentrated. If I could only take one cup of food for a few days, I'd choose chia! The food value per volume is simply astounding. You don't need much.

5. Mild tasting. Unlike some seeds, the flavor is very mild. The mild taste makes it easy to put in sauces, smoothies, breads, puddings, and whatever you want. They won't really change the taste, but will add to your nutrition!

6. Energy enhancing. The health pioneer Paul Bragg did an experiment an endurance hike with friends. They divided up into a chia-eating group and another group, who ate whatever they wanted. The group eating only chia seeds finished the hike four hours, twenty seven minutes before the others, most of whom didn't even finish at all.

7. Versatile. The seeds can be used to replace less-healthy fat in just about any recipe. You can use them uncooked in salad dressings, spreads, fruit shakes, ice cream, and just about anything you want. You can also add them to cookies, cakes, muffins, and other baked goods. I usually just mix in a couple of teaspoons to my juice or water and drink them down!

8. Slimming and trimming. Yes, the seeds will help you lose weight, for two reasons. The first reason is that they are so filling that you will eat less of other foods. The second reason is that they actually bulk up and cleanse your body of old "junk" in your intestines.

9. Endurance enhancing. Chia seeds are known as the "Indian Running Food". Also, the ancient Aztec warriors used chia seed during their conquests. I'm a runner, and I've used chia seed to enhance stamina and endurance on my mountain runs, some of which are several hours long!

10. Regenerating. After eating, the nutrients travel to the cells very quickly due to the ease in digestion and assimilation. Use them when you want to build or regenerate healthy body tissue.

Matter of Trust

What is that? You might be asking yourself, or me. That is the hair collected from a few salons throughout Albuquerque, and it is going to be shipped off the the gulf in the morning to make booms, that will be used to soak up oil in the gulf. Then, it will be covered with mushroom spores or worms, and they will break it down. And, it will go on to fertilize life. Do you see it? Do you see the circle?

My roommate, Brenna, and I decided that we wouldn't sit on the couch crying anymore. That there was more to us than being concerned. We can be part of the healing too. We went online and began searching for ways that we could help here in the middle of the desert. Thats when Brenna found Matter of Trust and knew exactly what we could do. We signed up, were assigned a factory in Alabama, and went out asking. We asked 5 salons if they would collect their hair and put it in a container for us. Then, we said we would come back in a week. This morning I stopped by Aveda and not only had they collected their hair, but had called their 5 other locations. They had also put up a sign letting their customers know. Also they gave me a little shampoo and conditioner goodie bag!

I've felt a lot of guilt. Guilt is useless unless is spurs you to action. Maybe one box full of hair sent to clean up 5,456,166 gallons of oil seems small. But what if every salon in the U.S. sent just one box?

Bliss

So much has happened! People have come! People have gone! My brain has been tired! My brain is reinvigorated! Wait, wait. I gotta slow down. Specifics. Specifics?

Specific #1-My family came down from Wisconsin to hug and love and bicker about politics with. We fought, kissed, hugged, and laughed. It all worked, and...I think they may be new readers here!

Specific #2-My two good friends Peter and Brigita are getting married! We ate lunch (above) and they told me! Its set for fall. In the mountains. I'm really behind this union.

Specific #3-School is over, and it damn near killed me.

Specific #4-Louis and I got emails letting us know that we were accepted to teach in Spain next year! We applied back in March, but thought it a bit slim. We were wrong! Both Louis and I were assigned the region of Extremadura. We will be teaching classes on North American culture in the public school system. I couldn't sleep last night. I can't even think right now. All I know is that I am going to have a hard time waiting for September.

Until September, I am going to spend a lot of time with friends. I think this is the summer for outdoor friendship dinners at least twice a week. Before Spain, I am going to soak up all the North American culture I can get my hands on.

Speaking of America, spring is here, and is popping out of ever nook and cranny:

El Panecillo

The city in Ecuador that I was living in, Quito, is extremely long and narrow. It stretches 50 miles from North to South, and only 4 miles East to West. The old city, settled by the Spanish is 1534, but thriving before that by the Quitus and for a brief period the Incas, is now the center of the city. The old city is wedged between the newer developments in the North and the South. This picture is taken from the Basilica, and the buildings in the foreground are that of old town. The hill in the background is El Panecillo which translates to "little bread loaf" and legend says the mound is man made and many a man has searched for gold inside of it. Atop El Panecillo is The Virgin, who has watched over Old Town since 1976. Because of the way the city is settled, the southern half of Quito is behind El Panecillo. We were told that the southern side was forsaken, because The Virgin had turned her back on them. I thrive off legends, and I couldn't help but remember this one every time we took the metro to the bus terminal in the far south.

Dino

Clean house. Cleaner than I've ever seen it. Today, I'm finishing up some finals with hope that soon it will be over-friday-! I can read a book that does not require a dictionary and write a sentence without a footnote. I do understand why we have footnotes. But, it can feel like no one believes a single word coming out of your lying mouth. Footnotes are a way of defending yourself. I could never be friends with people that make me do that every time I state a fact or paraphrase an argument.

I made the best loaf yet, and am thinking that it will be tasty with goat cheese, avocados and pepper for lunch tomorrow. In reality, that is exactly what I ate for lunch yesterday. I tend to eat a variation of the same thing for two-week periods, then switch. Do others do that? I once at a half-honeydew every night during the summer. I was 14.

Every time I look at this bread my mind says, "plate tectonics, plate tectonics!"

These are the triceratops and brachiosaurus that now live in our house:

Clean.

Today in the Greenfield, Jeschkeit-Hagen, Shadid household its clean clean clean. Clean like your mother. Clean like a maniac. Clean naked. Clean with socks on. Clean to the radio. Clean to music. Clean thinking of your friends. Clean fast. Clean slow. Clean like your a professional cleaner. Just clean!

We are maniacs, cleaning maniacs, and we are ready.