1 year anniversary (6 months late)

So, this blog has been a work in progress for a while.  Don't expect anything great...I've just been too lazy to finish and post it.  I first planned to post it upon finishing the 3rd Harry Potter book.  When that milestone had come and gone, I planned it for my 1 year anniversary in Barcelona...but ultimately missed that one too.  I had made some progress but, true to form, got lazy and forgot about it.  And now I'm just too lazy to rewrite/spin it as if I did it all on purpose...so here you go, my 1 year anniversary post (6 months late).

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So my first year in Barcelona has come to an end.  As I will find any excuse to bake up a storm and bring goodies into work, I thought this more than justified a day off to go shopping and bake.  As it was a milestone in my move to Spain, I thought that it appropriate to make...

Tarta de Santiago - cake of St. James.  An almond based tart/cake that is from Galicia.  In my recipe, it is a pie crust filled with a marzipan like filling.  Oh, that cross on top?  That's right, made it myself...template, cardboard, and a paperclip.

Turrón (Right) - almond nougat, I tried to make the hard type that is typical of Alicante.  Didn't turn out as it should have, but still tasty.

Carquinyoli (or as the rest of the world knows them, biscotti) - typically they are made only with almonds here (no chocolate or other nuts)

Coca - the definition of this one is quite fuzzy.  It's a pastry that, more often than not, has some sort of topping and can be sweet or salty.  The base can be similar to brioche, cake, or thin/crispy pizza crust.  Lots of variations depending on who you talk to but a lot of them have pine nuts on top.

The year has been pretty good even though it was somewhat stressful in the beginning with the language barrier and logistical differences.  On the language front, it seems that this will be an endless battle but I'm making process.  1 year and 5 Harry Potter books later, I've learned approximately 1.5 thousand words...unfortunately I still have 1800 in my notes to learn.  How do I keep track of this?  With a spreadsheet, of course!  As I encounter words that I don't know (books, throughout the day, etc.), I take notes and add them to my spreadsheet in batches.  When I learn the words, I move them from the list onto a separate list of learned words.

Let's see how it's going!

An ambitious goal would be for the blue curve to reach 0...but that's just too depressing.  So currently I look forward to the day the red curve surpasses the blue curve.

- through late February 2010: not too much activity as I was still in the States

- March: moved to Barcelona so it was big month for acquiring new words but internalizing them is another story, as indicated by the blue curve quickly separating from the red.

- June - August: pretty good period!  Internalization kept up with acquisition so the blue was relatively flat!

- I began the 4th book in late August and man, was it was a doosy.  This was when the books started getting really thick.

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That was it!  Totally worth the wait, eh?  Man I'm tired...I think I'll just skip my birthday post.  I'll sum it up for you...

• Baked:  sfogliatella (Italy), scones (UK), and more biscotti.  
• Language: My spanish is pretty decent at this point and it has become more of a hobby than anything else.  Red curve finally crossed over the blue...but the blue is still over 2000 words.  After I finished the Harry Potter books, I started the George R. R. Martin series in spanish so perhaps not all of the vocab words are all that useful.  I doubt I'll need to ask anyone to saddle my steed and bring my coat of arms anytime soon...but you never know.